


New Tricks

by pempeeeperem



Category: Super Paper Mario (Game)
Genre: F/M, I do like them behaving like a family it's such a good setting, a very soft story you know just the usual chaos and the minions nagging each other, it will stay soft, plot and fun times
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:33:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26196454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pempeeeperem/pseuds/pempeeeperem
Summary: After her defeat at Merlee's, Mimi searches for ways to improve her abilities. She has heard of a shapeshifting spell that lets her turn into the person that her enemy cares about the most - a perfect way to mislead the heroes! But before she can set out to get her revenge she has to properly learn the spell and tries it on her dear friends.
Relationships: Dimentio/Mimi
Comments: 31
Kudos: 55





	1. Weakness

**Author's Note:**

> A friend pitched this idea to me and I thought ?!?! How very perfect!

She knows what she is doing is risky. It could render her shifting abilities useless, it could make her immobile, heck, who knows what the side effects of this spell are?! Mimi is fully aware of the dangers she puts herself in, but given that her plan at Merlee’s didn’t work and that stupid pig-headed hero with that candy cane of a princess beat her up, she accepts them. Next time that Count Bleck sends her out, she will be victorious.

True, her middleman has pointed out the difficulty of the spell, but she is a shapeshifter. This is going to come naturally to her. It’s just the preparation. Yes, she just has to prepare it properly and train and test it. Does she even have time to train it? After all, the heroes could be on the run again tomorrow! No, skip the useless training, the test is more important.

Okay, let’s go through the steps once more. First, picture your target, form a bond, put yourself into their shoes, find that prickling feeling on the skin shortly before shifting and then step two-

“When I asked myself _what could Mimi possibly be up to_ I didn’t imagine her sitting alone in the training room.” a voice brings her out of her thoughts, “What are you doing? Trying to find your inner middle like a hopeless yoga-enthusiast during a mid-life crisis?”

Mimi blinks rapidly and searches for the source of her disturbance. Sure enough, a jester hovers in front of her, a smile plastered on the mask.

“I’m trying to concentrate, jerk.” she says, “Go away.”

She shakes her head defiantly and closes her eyes again.

“Is it meditation you are doing? You are sitting wrong. You see, one leg has to go-”

“I am not meditating, Dimentio. I am training. Can you leave?”

“Training the mind, aha!” he exclaims happily, “That is wise, Mimi, I didn’t expect you to be this predictive.”

“Yes, thank you. I will tell you when the hall’s free.”

“No need to, I wasn’t planning on training. My craft is already perfected.”

“Uhuh.” she says and concentrates on concentrating.

“So, what is it that you are trying to achieve?”

His voice is too distracting. She shoots him an angry look. In return, he smiles his ever-present smile and waits for her to answer. He even nods for emphasis.

“Ugh, I’m trying a new technique. Could you buzz off now?” Mimi groans.

“That sounds exciting!” he cheers, “I would die to see your new trick. Would you show it to me, pretty please?”

She groans again, but then she thinks. Dimentio could be her test. Would that work on him? Oh, golly, that would be perfect!

“Mimimimimi” she mumbles, then clears her throat, “Well, I mean, I could use a training partner.”

“Wonderful!” he claps his hands, “What do you need me to do?”

“Just stand there. Or sit. Doesn’t matter.” she points in front of her.

He sits down into a lotus seat and observes her curiously.

“What now?” he asks.

“Wouldn’t be much of a surprise if I told you, would it?” Mimi laughs nervously, “Just sit there.”

“Alright. I will be as quiet as a sleeping kitten.”

Maybe Dimentio isn’t the best training partner, he has a tendency to make her nervous and having his watchful eyes on her is less than ideal. She grimaces momentarily, then stubbornly ignores the anxiety. It’s exciting, after all! Yes, it is simply exciting to try this spell.

She takes a deep breath and goes through the steps again. Alright, picture the person. He sits right in front of her, easy. Put yourself into his footsteps, she has taken his appearance often, also easy. Now, go further than that, bypass the surface and reach for the core. Huh, she has never attempted that before. Sure, she knows him, but she doesn’t know him _that_ well. She can’t really imagine what he thinks or feels. Sometimes, she can’t really say if he has feelings at all. He’s always distant. Sure, he gathers with them, he jokes and he talks with them, but in the end she doesn’t really know him.

She opens her eyes and looks at her hands. Did she shift? She had felt the prickling, but she sees her gloved hands.

“I am still waiting to be amazed.” Dimentio says.

“Ugh.” Mimi groans and slouches, “It didn’t work.”

“Oh, that is a pity.” he says and it almost sounds genuine, “Will you tell me now what you were doing?”

“Eh, it was just another shifting technique.” she says, “I wanted to try something different. Heard of a way of finding an enemy’s weakness.”

“Ah, so you wanted to shift into my natural counter.” Dimentio muses, “Very interesting. How ingenious.”

“Yeah... thanks.” Mimi says sourly.

“Well, once you conquered it, why don’t we try this again? I would just love to see who my counter might be.” he says with emphasis on the last sentence.

“I thought your craft was perfect?” she mutters.

“Why yes, but a good defence is just as important as a good offence.” he says and stands up, “I will leave you to refining your offence, then.”

He bows theatrically and Mimi rolls her eyes. A snap later, she is left alone and she sighs disappointedly. That didn’t go well. Is he immune to it, perhaps?

Her description wasn’t necessarily wrong, but it wasn’t fully true either. This technique is exploiting a weakness of her enemy, but not in the sense of countering the fighting style. She was trying to shift into his emotional weakness, someone he cares about, maybe someone he loves. Her idea is to trick the hero, lull them into false safety and then stab them in the back, probably with a rubee. Looks like Dimentio doesn’t care about anyone which shouldn’t surprise her too much.

Or maybe Dimentio was just the wrong target for her first test. She should try this again with someone she knows better. Hm… Nastasia! This should be a piece of cake with her, her crush is so obvious it’s almost painful to watch.

She loosens her shoulders and concentrates on Nastasia, a person she has shifted into a many times before. Mainly, because the others react so funnily. Ahem! She focuses on Nastasia and goes beyond the surface, grabbing for what makes Nastasia _Nastasia_. Her skin begins to prickle and she doesn’t feel the shift, but when she opens her eyes she sees-

Her own hands still. She grumbles a swear. Maybe it doesn’t work if the person isn’t there. Ugh, fine. She hops up and goes to search for the assistant, who most likely will be in her office doing whatever senseless paper work she has to do. Politely, almost shyly, she knocks on the door.

“Come in.” Nastasia’s voice calls from inside.

“Hey, Nassy.” Mimi grins from around the door, “Got a minute?”

Nastasia closes the file in front of her and nods.

“Yeah.” she says.

“Awesome!”

Mimi skips inside and sits down on the chair opposite of hers.

“What, uhm, can I do for you?” Nastasia asks.

“I wanna try out a new technique, it’s not gonna hurt, but I need someone to train with.” Mimi explains.

“Mimi, I am busy.” Nastasia sighs, “Go ask one of the boys.”

“I already did!” Mimi exclaims, “It didn’t work! But I know what should happen if I try it with you.”

Nastasia sighs again, more dramatically this time.

“Is this really necessary?” she asks.

“Yes!” Mimi shouts, “You told me to come up with something new and I got something new now! C’mon, it won’t take long. Then you can go back to your papers.”

She almost included a swear in there. Gosh, Nastasia can be so difficult sometimes.

“Fine.” Nastasia gives in, “What do I have to do?”

“Just sit there!” Mimi says, “It’ll just take a moment.”

Nastasia leans back and observes her. Mimi repositions herself on the chair and concentrates again. She can practically feel Nastasia on her skin, it prickles and she falls off the chair.

“Oof!” Mimi grunts in a man’s voice.

“You, uhm, turned into Count Bleck.” Nastasia states dryly, “Yeah, I told you to not do that. It’s disrespectful.”

Mimi rubs her side and glares at Nastasia who is leaning over her desk and looking down on her.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen.” she lies and puts an extra growl into the sentence.

“Well, what was supposed to happen?” Nastasia asks.

“Dunno, like O’Chunks maybe.” Mimi says and shifts back into herself, “I was trying to find your counter and a fighter should have been it.”

She stands and rolls her right shoulder. Jeez, how does the count sit on chairs?

“The count is an adept fighter. I wouldn’t be surprised if he could counter my techniques.” Nastasia says.

“Well, maybe.” Mimi says pointing to the door, “I’m gonna go train some more. Thanks, Nassy.”

“You’re welcome, Mimi.”

Nastasia already grabs for the file again when Mimi hushes outside. Huh. That was easy. Of course Nastasia cares about the count most, he is her obvious weakness. Mimi knew that before, does that nullify this test? She should try it out once more with one of the boys, just to be sure. Hm, Mr. L or O’Chunks? She knows less about Mr. L than about O’Chunks, that makes him the better target!

Mimi skips downstairs into the hallway where Mr. L keeps his alter eg- ahem, his weapon. She pops into his workshop and sees him working on something that loosely resembles a rocket launcher.

“Hi, Mr. L!” she says happily and hops into his worn-out chair, making it spin.

“Hello, Mimi.” Mr. L grunts and grabs for a different tool, ignoring her.

“What are you doing?”

“Working.”

“On what?”

“A new mod for Brobot.”

“What does it do?”

“It hurts.”

“Wow, that sounds super dull.”

“You’re dull.”

He shoots her an annoyed look and she sticks out her tongue. Shaking his head, he returns to his project.

“What do you want?” he asks.

“Nothing! I’m bored.” she quips.

“Then go bugger O’Chunks.”

“But I wanna hang out with you.”

“Well, I am busy.”

“I won’t bother you. You can work and I can watch.”

“Hm.” he grunts again, shoots her a look, then grabs for another tool, “Just don’t touch anything.”

“Won’t do.” she smiles.

He scratches his chin in thought, then resumes whatever he was doing. With Mr. L being occupied, Mimi sits down properly and goes through the steps. Having turned into Mr. L before, she quickly gets into the mood. Now, surpass the surface and reach for the core… Her skin begins to prickle and this time she notices the shift flimsily. She opens her eyes and sees blue trousers and strong, human arms. They’re kind of hairy. Ew, who is this?

“Uhh, Mr. L, do you have a mirror?” she asks in a male voice.

“What?” he mumbles and looks at her.

Mr. L blinks in confusion. Mimi blinks back.

“Annoy someone else, would you?” he groans.

“I’m just asking for a mirror, jeez.” she retorts.

Mr. L rolls his eyes and points at a metal plate that might reflect her image, before turning his attention back to his work. Mimi stands up and walks over.

“What?” she mumbles.

The plumber looks back at her. Why in the world did she shift into the hero? That makes no sense. She looks at Mr. L, who has his back turned to her. This is supposed to be the person he cares about the most? Is he some sort of spy? No, she must have made a mistake… but it worked with Nastasia. Ugh, this is confusing. She shifts back into herself, corrects her pigtails and walks to the door.

“I gotta go now, see you later, Mr. L!” she calls.

“Yeah, yeah.” comes the answer.

She wonders what she did wrong. Hm… only way to find out is by trying again. Now, where could O’Chunks be? It is almost time for Super Goomba Bros. Maybe he is in the lounge, but when she checks the room, she finds the count sitting in one of the arm chairs, reading a book.

“Hi, County.” she says and skips over to him, “Mind if I sit here with you?”

He looks up from the page and smiles.

“Not at all, says Count Bleck.” he says, “It is almost time for your TV entertainment, is it not?”

“Almost.” she says and sits down, “What are you reading?”

“Just a book about an adventure.”

“Oh? Yeah, that sounds exciting.” she says, “Have you ever been on an adventure?”

“I believe we currently are.” he chuckles.

“Heh.” she grins, “Yeah, I guess.”

He returns to his book with a hum and Mimi kicks her legs. She could try the spell on the count, can’t she? She has no idea who Count Bleck cares about. Sure, he cares about them, but who is his favourite? Or does he have a secret love nobody knows about?

“I think love is the greatest adventure.” she says.

“...love?” he asks.

“Yeah!” she says and looks at him.

He looks strangely tense. Uh oh.

“I mean, love is wonderful...” she adds quietly, “even if it is quite confusing.”

“...yes, I suppose that is right.” he says slowly.

This is awkward. Mimi grabs for the remote and turns on the TV.

“In Super Goomba Bros there is this couple that I’m rooting for.” she babbles, “I really hope this episode brings them back. They haven’t been on screen for such a long time, although she just has to confess to him now, because he basically confessed, you know? But he didn’t know that she heard him and she was unsure for a couple of episodes, but it is clear that she loves him, ah, it’s not on yet, but O’Chunks is missing anyways. I don’t like watching the show without him.”

She takes a deep breath after that waterfall of words and the count stands up.

“You should tell Count Bleck how it ends, it sounds... intriguing.” he says and put the book back onto its shelf, “I will be seeing you later, says Count Bleck.”

“O-okay.” she smiles and watches as he leaves, “See you!”

She can’t help but feel as if she hit a sore spot. Is this about Nastasia perhaps? Nnnngh, that could have gone South real quick if she had tried the spell on him. Oh boy, oh boy, she will avoid the count with this issue.

“Has it begun already?” O’Chunks’ voice brings her out of her thoughts.

“Huh?” she snaps to him, “What?”

“Super Goomba Bros?” he asks, “The show we watching ev’ry week?”

He walks over and sits down on the other arm chair, wordlessly asking for the remote. She hands it over.

“Uhh, not yet.” she says.

He turns on the channel information, the show should be on any second now.

“Ahh, great.” he sighs happily, “Thought Ah missed it.”

“Hey, do you wanna see the new trick I learned?” Mimi asks.

“A new trick?” he repeats and looks at her, “Sure, why not?”

“Okay, just one moment!”

She pulls up her legs into a loose lotus seat and closes her eyes. Picture the person, put yourself into their shoes, surface, then core… Her skin prickles and she hears a surprised noise coming from O’Chunks. She opens her eyes to see him staring at her with wide eyes.

“What do you think?” she asks in a foreign voice.

“Ye took mah mama’s appearance.” he gasps, “How diddya know what she looked like?”

His mama? She looks at herself, but she sees nothing familiar. She looks human and is taller than before. She grins at O’Chunks.

“That is my secret and now go eat your veggies and wash your teeth, little O’Chunks.” she says.

“Bwahahaha!” O’Chunks barks, “Ye sound exactly like her!”

He shakes his head, grinning from ear to ear, when the intro of Super Goomba Bros starts playing, redirecting both their attention.

“Oha! I feared I had missed the beginning!”

Dimentio pops up in the room and plops down next to Mimi.

“Nah, ye fine.” O’Chunks says.

Dimentio looks at her, she looks back at him and she knows that he is about to ask, so she quickly shifts back and smiles innocently.

“I knew you would like the show!” she cheers, “I’m glad you gave it a shot, but now pshhhh!”

She puts a finger to her lips and looks excitedly at the screen. Dimentio raises his hands in defeat and stays quiet, hopefully interpreting the scene as nothing more than one of her jokes. The episode is great and they laugh a good portion of it. The couple doesn’t return, but she had a feeling that the authors don’t know what to do with them.

“Hey, dinner is ready!” Mr. L shouts into the lounge as he passes the open door.

He is gone before any of them even fully register him. Nonetheless, O’Chunks jumps up and hurries outside, muttering something about his growling belly. Mimi stands up to follow him, when Dimentio speaks up behind her.

“So, who was that lovely lady earlier?” he asks.

“Uhh, just somebody O’Chunks knew.” she says and waves to the door, “Come, let’s go eat. I’m hungry.”

“Are you still practising your new technique? Was that the result?” he wonders, “I would have thought O’Chunks’ counter to be more… magical.”

“Yeah, well, turns out the spell is faulty.” she shrugs.

“A spell?” he asks, “A spell is never faulty, only the execution is! Ah ha!”

He stands up as well.

“Maybe I could lend a hand?” he muses, “Have you sufficiently gone through the procedure?”

“Yeah, it’s not that hard. It’s shapeshifting, it’s what I do.” she shrugs, “The spell just doesn’t make sense. Thanks for the offer, though.”

“It doesn’t make sense? Why is that?”

“Ugh, can’t we just go to dinner?” she points at the door again.

“You know that dinner always starts late, but if you don’t want a magician’s help to conquer your new technique that might the key to besting the heroes, then so be it.”

“Uuuuuugh, okay, okay!” she relents.

He is so damn nosy, but he is a magician. If anyone understands that stuff it gotta be him.

“So...” she starts and thinks about what to say, “I tried it on four different people and two times it worked and two times it didn’t. The spell is just unreliable.”

“If I remember correctly, I have been your first test, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Well, try it again. Perhaps you will have success three times, that narrows down the error source to one case!”

She frowns for a moment, but what he says makes sense. She sighs.

“Okay, maybe it’ll work this time. Though I didn’t do anything different with the others.”

She takes a breath, closes her eyes and goes through the steps. She reaches for the core, feels her skin prickling… Then opens her eyes again. Dimentio says nothing and when she looks down at herself, her shoulders slump.

“Nothing, again.” she says.

“Hm, yes, you don’t make for a good counter to me.” he hums, “No offence.”

“It’s fine.” she says.

“What were the results of the other tests?”

“Well, uhm...” she mumbles and searches for a possible lie.

“Yes?”

“Well, the spell doesn’t actually find the combat counter...” she says slowly.

“Oh, no! You lied to me?” he gasps, but she doesn’t buy his shock.

She rolls her eyes.

“Okay. The truth?” she says, “The technique would let me turn into the person my enemy cares about the most, maybe a family member like O’Chunks or a crush like Nastasia, but it didn’t make any sense with Mr. L.”

She shrugs and notices that Dimentio froze up. Rats! She didn’t mean to insult him.

“So, maybe that’s why I’m still myself with you. I don’t mean to say that you’re heartless or something. The spell is just faulty, like I said.”

“So, you...” he says slowly, his voice strained, “plan on seducing the hero?”

“Ew, no.” she grimaces, “I wouldn’t go that far. Just, you know, trick them a little and strike when they least expect it. They are three people and a butterfly, anyways. Maybe I could lead them to a trap. I don’t know, I wanted to learn the spell before I make plans.”

She crosses her arms before her chest and tilts her head in thought. There are so many possibilities with this technique… if only it would work! She sighs and looks back at Dimentio who still stares at her.

“Hey, I mean,” she says softly, “everyone has somebody they care about, right? Like I said, Mr. L didn’t make sense either.”

“Yes, of course. Ah ha ha...” he clears his throat, “Just asking out of curiosity, but who was Mr. L’s supposed treasure?”

“Pff, you’ll laugh.” she says, “It was the hero, the plumber.”

“Oh, no, that makes no sense at all!”

“Told you!” she chuckles, “So, do you have any advice?”

“I fear not.” he says and sounds strangely happy about it, “These kind of spells lie outside of my ability.”

“Would have been too easy, huh?” she sighs, then shrugs, “Let’s just go to dinner. I have to come up with something new now.”

“A strengthening meal surely will spike your creativity.” he cheers and walks with her to the dining room.

“I was wondering if flying would give me an advantage.” she wonders loudly, “It is super hard to hit you, because you’re always flying away.”

“Ah ha ha! That is true.” he chuckles, then looks at her, “Would you like me to teach you?”

“You would do that?!” she spins to him.

“Why not?” he shrugs.

“Well, because...” she glances into all directions, awkwardly trying to come up with a good reason.

Something other than the fact that never seems to care about any of them.

“I just thought it would be the proper thing to do.” he says, “View it as a… token of my friendship.”

She snaps back to him and blinks in surprise, then grins.

“Well, in that case I will gladly take you up on that offer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thehehehehe  
> What a relief that Mimi didn't try the spell on Count Bleck! That surely would have been awkward.


	2. Up and go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dimentio teaches Mimi how to fly. At least, he tries to.

Flying isn’t that hard of a spell. It might be unfamiliar in the beginning, he supposes, but after a short while it should come second nature. That doesn’t stop Mimi from failing miserably, though.

“Where am I going?! Stop me!” she cries and drifts away again.

If he had known that there would be so much shouting involved, he wouldn’t have offered his help.

“There are walls and a ceiling, don’t worry.” he says calmly, even if he is annoyed.

She stares at him in fright and attempts to swim in the air. It looks ridiculous and he can’t suppress the massive grin forming on his face. Luckily, the mask translates it into his neutral smile. He walks after her as she begins to turn around herself again.

“I don’t get it!” she groans.

“You will.” he says, “In time. Hopefully.”

“Could you explain it to me one more time, please?” she grumbles, “Grambi, my stomach...”

He sighs.

“Why, of course.” he says _very_ patiently, “Feel the magic surrounding you and pull on it, push it, use the air and step on it.”

“I don’t feel anything besides my breakfast returning.” she croaks.

With a sigh he levitates towards her and grabs her hand, preventing her from spinning any further. Once she stabilised, he lets go of her and puts a polite distance between them. He doesn’t want her to bump into him, she did already and left goosebumps.

“Thanks.” she sighs and looks at him apologetically.

“You’re not a natural at all.” he says.

“Looks like it.”

“You look like the bee that understood the physical illogicality of its ability to fly and lost it in the process.”

“Gee, thanks, you’re such a good teacher.”

She rolls her eyes.

“One would think a shapeshifter understood magic.” he counters.

“Well!” she exclaims and grows quiet as no end to this sentence comes to her mind.

“Well, the other spell wasn’t quite your fit either.” he says amusedly.

“I’m not over that yet.” she grumbles.

“What?” he asks, feeling his neck grow hot as his anxiety crawls up, “Are you… still trying to learn it?”

“Yeah!” she grins, “Just imagine all the possibilities!”

He stares at her silently, trying to come up with an argument, then she begins to laugh.

“I mean, once we got our perfect world, what else is there to do? It’s just perfect! I could be starting so much gossip! Mimimimimi!”

She giggles and rises upwards. He looks after her, relief letting him relax again.

“You’re doing well, Mimi.” he compliments her.

“I’m not doing that!” she wails, “Why am I going upwards? Oh Grambi, that’s way too high! Too high! Dimentio!”

She reaches out to him and the sheer panic on her face makes him chuckle. He follows her, takes both her hands and as the insides of his gloves heat up uncomfortably, he guides her down to the floor. Dispelling the charm, her feet plop onto the ground and with it goes her body.

“Oh, sweet earth I will never leave you again.” she says and hugs the floor.

“So, that was your great endeavour to learning how to fly?” he asks and wipes his sweaty hands underneath his poncho, “A skill fit for a master of magical ability? One that would let you surpass the boundaries of what nature has gifted you?”

“Ugh… maybe for today.”

She turns her head to look at him, her face being a little paler than usual.

“Can we try again tomorrow?” she asks.

“...we can.” he sighs.

She smiles as a thanks.

“I will be leaving you to… whatever you are doing.” he says.

“Yeah.” she snorts, “I’ll stay here for a moment longer, I think.”

He bows, catches a glimpse of her smirk, then teleports away. In the safety of his room, he takes off his mask and fans himself air. Teaching Mimi is arduous, outright a training by itself! One would think she would get it in one session. She shapeshifts, she also has a talent for psychological spells, yet she struggles with flying?

Dimentio sighs. He must have used up his luck last time. There was no reason for him to offer his help in the first place. No. Well. Of course there was. This cursed spell!

A knock on his door tears him out of his thoughts and he puts his mask back into place. Opening the door, Nastasia is revealed to be standing outside, her fanciest clipboard clammed underneath her arm.

“I am, uhm, updating your file.” she says, “I heard that you are teaching Mimi. Yeah, what is this about?”

She clicks her pen and begins scribbling on said board.

“Hello Nastasia.” he smiles, “What a pleasant surprise to see you.”

“Yeah, pleasure is all mine, so, what are you doing?”

She shoots him an impatient look.

“Well, I am doing what you asked of me.” he says, “I am mingling.”

“Uhuh.” she nods and writes it down, “What exactly are you teaching her?”

“The most magnificent skill of all. Something that will surely give her an advantage over our foes!”

“Just say it, Dimentio, I have yet to correct O’Chunks’ essay on failure and redemption, update your files and then adjust Mimi’s training schedule.”

“Oh, that is a pity. I enjoy chatting with you so very much.”

“Yeah, I enjoy chatting with you too.” she says almost convincingly, “So, what is the topic of your lessons?”

“Flying.” he says, “I am teaching Mimi how to fly.”

“I see...” she scribbles, then stops abruptly, “Wait, what?”

She looks up.

“You are teaching her how to fly?” she asks.

“Yes, why? Would you like to learn it as well?” he chuckles, “I’m afraid I have my hands full with one student already, like juggler that juggles too many knives at once. Aha ha ha!”

“No… Grambi, now I have to plan a consultation with her...” she grumbles and her pen keeps scribbling, “I hope she, well, doesn’t come to your practice in dresses.”

“I had this talk with her already, but maybe she’ll listen to you.” he says.

After all, Nastasia is akin to a very worried mother and Mimi usually listens to her. He, on the other hand, attempts to minimize their contact and in return she bites back if he tries to tell her about clothes.

“I wish you luck.” he adds with a chuckle.

“Uhuh.” she finishes scribbling, adjusts her glasses and nods, “That’ll be all for now. I’ll see you, uhm, around.”

She rushes off immediately, gone as fast as she has come. He barely has time to wish her a good day.

On the next day, Mimi nudges him all throughout morning _to already get going_. The amount of attention from her is unusually high, he looks forward to when all returns to normality again. He will need a break after this. He lets her drag him to the training hall nonetheless, her enthusiasm is admirable, he admits that much.

“Are you ready for your second lesson?” he asks her.

“Yes!” she says excitedly, “I thought about it and I think I get it now. C’mon, hit me!”

She stretches out her arms to both sides and grins widely. He snaps his fingers and sends the charm over.

“I see, you have prepared like an ambitious student trying to impress his teacher. Well, show me.” he chuckles.

“Pff, I’m not trying to impress you.” she scoffs, “But you will be impressed.”

“I am all eyes.”

He levitates into the air and sits comfortably. Mimi closes her eyes and focuses. A moment later, she follows him into the air. Slowly. Very slowly.

“Take your time, it’s not like I have other things to do.” he remarks.

She shoots him an angry look, which only causes him to laugh. It’s impossible not to laugh when she is mad!

“Don’t be in such a hurry.” she grumbles, “It’s harder than it looks.”

 _It really isn’t_ , but he stays quiet and waits patiently for her next move. Surely enough, she starts drifting away again and then she turns around herself. When she notices, she looks up in surprise and cranes her neck to look at him.

“Why is this happening again?” she whines.

“You tell me.” he chuckles, “It’s you who’s doing it.”

“I’m not doing that!”

He shrugs and Mimi turns upside down, her dress slipping.

“Stupid gravity!” she spits and hastily corrects it again.

“You can’t condemn the physics that make this world.” he says calmly, taking off his hat and lazily playing with its jingles.

Looks like Nastasia failed as well.

“I can and I will!” she pouts and slowly turns upright again and then upside down once more.

“Why don’t you embrace them instead?” he says, his eyes focused on the bells, “They are what keep you in place, after all.”

“Well, that’s easy for you to say.” she mumbles, “How am I supposed to do that? Physics, I order you to obey me!”

She keeps turning.

“Ah ha ha ha!” he laughs, “Something like this.”

He puts his hat back on and floats to Mimi. When he offers a hand, she takes it and stabilizes. He then proceeds to explain her details, which she doesn’t understand and in the end he is exhausted and Mimi is confused. He guides her to the floor, thinks about changing his gloves for lighter ones and dispenses the charm.

“Well, thanks for today nonetheless.” she says and smiles at him lopsidedly.

“Don’t worry, you will get the hang of it eventually.” he returns and hopes intently that she needs no more than one more session.

“I hope so. I mean, it went better than yesterday, right?”

“Of course, it is just a matter of practise.”

“Yeah, thanks for helping me, Dimentio, I really appreciate that.” she says genuinely and now he needs a lighter mask as well, “I will return the favour one day.”

“No… no worries.” he says slowly, “I will leave now, if you excuse me...”

“Yeah, see you later.”

She smiles again, then leaves for the door and he teleports away, into Mr L’s workshop where is he is promptly greeted with a welcome distraction: Mr L having gotten his foot stuck in the side of his robot, the mechanic being deeply focused on trying to figure out how to entangle the puzzle pieces.

“Need a hand, L?” Dimentio asks amusedly.

Mr L cringes and he looks at him, apparently having a jump scare, but without jumping. Because he can’t with one foot being stuck.

“Sheesh, can’t you use the door?” Mr L whines angrily, “Every time you come in I hurt myself. I think I scratched myself just now.”

He mutters a swear and turns his attention back to the hole his foot has disappeared to.

“That was not my intention.” Dimentio says, “I apologize for scaring you.”

“Yeah… sure. Would you just give me that?”

Mr L points at a welder.

“Are you sure?” Dimentio asks.

“Of course I am sure. Why would I ask otherwise?” Mr L retorts.

“Somebody stood up with the wrong foot today it seems.”

“Ha ha, give it to me already.”

Mr L rips the tool out of his hands and then proceeds to free himself. Dimentio lingers, talks to Mr L and watches him putting back the metal piece. Mr L is a much more preferred company. Less irritating, less anxiety inducing, but just as easy to tease.

He is thrown out of the workshop one hour later.

On the third day, Mimi thinks she has cracked the code and wants to try it without Dimentio’s charm. So, he lets her have the stage and observes her curiously. Her hair moves strangely. Which should be impossible as there are no windows in the training hall and it gives him hope that he will be freed from this detention.

To his surprise, Mimi’s feet leave the ground, hover a centimetre above it, then put in more distance to the floor. She levitates one metre, then two and Dimentio nods in satisfaction.

“Wonderful!” he says, “Yo-”

Her concentrated face gives way to panic and she flings her arms and screams and falls. He jumps forward, the charm on his fingertips and catches her. Now, he knows that he didn’t have to move to save her. There wasn’t much to save her from anyways, it was only two metres. He could have just snapped his fingers. He knows that and he hopes that Mimi won’t say anything about any of that as he slowly puts her down, positively melting in his poncho.

“Ooof, thanks.” Mimi mumbles and takes deep breaths, her hands slipping from shoulders and onto her knees.

“No problem.” he says curtly and takes a good step back.

“I’m getting a headache.” she says, “Is that normal?”

“That is… unusual.” he clears his throat, “You better take a break.”

“Uhuh, break sounds good...”

She straightens up and massages her forehead.

“Sorry for that.” she says, “Guess, I got ahead of myself.”

“Oh no, you are making remarkable progress. You don’t even need me no more.” he says with a smile.

“Huh.” she says and frowns, “Yeah, I guess not.”

“Aw, don’t look so sad, I’m not suddenly vanishing like a person being whisked away by death!” he says and laughs forcibly.

“Yeah, no.” she rolls her eyes, “I guess I just liked spending some more time with you. You know, we should hang out more often.”

“I... will see if my schedule allows it.”

She smiles.

“Awesome.” she says, then grimaces and massages her forehead more forcefully, “I think, I will take a nap now.”

“Well, in that case: Sweet dreams, Mimi.” he says and gestures to the door.

“Thanks.” she says weakly and heads out.

He looks after her and thinks about her disappointed expression just seconds ago. This cursed spell... He should have never asked.


	3. Quality Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mimi takes a break and gets inspiration for revenge. Oh yeah, someone pisses her off.

Nastasia is taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r. What in Grambi’s good world is she doing in there? Mimi only gave her five different outfits, why is she taking so long putting them on? More importantly, why hasn’t she come out in one yet?

“Nassy?” Mimi sing-songs, “Are you having technical difficulties?”

“Uhm, no. I’m… I’m fine.” Nastasia’s voice comes from behind the dressing room.

“When will I see you being fabulous?” Mimi continues sweetly.

“Well, Mimi, these choices aren’t exactly… my style.” Nastasia says slowly.

She doesn’t sound very happy.

“But that’s the whole reason why we’re going together!” Mimi says, “To try something new, find out more about ourselves and understand the other better!”

“How is this going to do any of that...”

“What?”

“Nothing! I, uhh, will come out now...”

The curtain is being pushed aside and a very dashing Nastasia steps outside. Mimi gasps and clutches her hands before her chest.

“You look awesome!” she exclaims, “I knew black is a good look on you! Now open your hair!”

“Ugh, Mimi, I think this is quite enough. This dress is so...” Nastasia mumbles and turns before the mirror.

“Beautiful? I know! I picked it!”

Mimi jumps up and joins Nastasia.

“Look, just try it.” Mimi says and fumbles with Nastasia’s tight bun.

The hair loosens and falls majestically onto her shoulders. Mimi takes a step away and examines her work.

“Amazing.” she concludes, “You look so pretty in this, Nassy. You should totally get it.”

“Uhuh...” Nastasia replies, “And when would I, uhm, ever wear this?”

“To dates, of course!” Mimi laughs.

“What dates...?” Nastasia mumbles.

“What do you mean what dates? Any man would die to spend an evening with you!”

“Yeah… sure… You know, we don’t really have time for these kinds of things.”

“Then we have to make time!”

Nastasia shoots her a look and sighs.

“What? Is there someone on your mind?” Mimi grins.

“No.” Nastasia says, “That’s why I don’t need this dress.”

“Then you should get it all the more. When you see it in your wardrobe it will remind you to go out and find your true love!” Mimi sighs dramatically, letting the back of her hand touch her forhead, the way Dimentio does.

Nastasia shoots her another look.

“What about you?” she asks and heads for the dressing room.

“I have none in sight either, that’s why we should go out next week!” Mimi grins, already imagining how much fun they will have.

And tons of admiration, too. She will make sure Nastasia meets some interesting men so she will finally get over the count. Or make him jealous. Whatever is more likely to happen.

“I didn’t mean that.” Nastasia says, “You, uhm, haven’t changed back yet. Can’t decide?”

“No, I’m absolutely getting this.” Mimi explains, “I get now why you like grey. See? I learned something about you.”

“Uhuh, and what did you learn?”

“That you like grey, because it makes you feel like a powerful and rich businesswoman.”

“Uhm, what?”

“I’m not a fan of the colour, but I really like the dress!”

“Well, I’m glad you like it...”

Nastasia exits the room with a small bundle of clothes slung over her arm, while Mimi grabs her pile. Standing in line to the cashier, Mimi tries to persuade her into _just one more shop_ , but Nastasia denies her relentlessly. Not even pouting helps. So, with their bounty in their hands, they return to Castle Bleck.

Nastasia heads off exhaustedly right away, Mimi skips to her room to re-organise her wardrobe. As she switches the drawers’ purposes, she smiles absently. Dimentio was right about taking a break. She really needed this day off. She feels so much lighter already! Almost ready to take off and rule the sky!

Almost. Having been so caught up in training had her neglect her relationships with the others and that is not okay. It was a miracle to get Nastasia to agree, but it was a lot of fun! And Nastasia did get the dress she picked out for her!

Okay, next on her list shall be… Hm, she doesn’t know. She should have a look into the lounge and see if anyone got time. It’s only noon and she still has a lot of energy left. Besides, that way she can show off her new dress some more.

She finishes her re-organisation and skips to the lounge. Poking her head inside, she finds Mr L draped over the couch, watching TV. Perfect! She jumps onto the arm rest of the couch and grins widely at him.

“Hi, Mr L!” she cheers.

“Huh?” Mr L says and forces his eyes off the screen to look at her, “Ah, what’s up?”

“Lots! What are you doing? How are you today?”

“Watching TV and good.” he ogles her suspiciously, “You’re back early. Did Nastasia put you in handcuffs?”

“Funny that you mention that, but no! We just got back early, which means there is even more I can do today!”

“Hmh. Good for you.” he says and returns his attention to the TV.

“Yes! Good for us!” she laughs and he looks back at her.

“Us?” the corners of his mouth twitch downwards, “No. Nuh-uh. I’m staying right here. Look at my leg, I can’t.”

“Your leg?” she asks, “What’s wrong with it?”

She glances at the leg next to her and he pulls up the pants to reveal a bandage underneath.

“What happened?” she asks.

“Ask him.” Mr L says nods towards the armchair standing behind her.

She turns around.

“Oh, hi Dimentio. Didn’t see you there.” she smiles.

“Uhm, good afternoon, Mimi.” he raises his hand in a greeting, then looks at Mr L, “That was you. I was merely there when it happened.”

“If you hadn’t come it wouldn’t have happened.” Mr L snarls at him.

“What happened?” Mimi asks.

Mr L just shrugs.

“Mr L scratched himself because I scared him.” Dimentio says.

“You scared the living Underthere out of me, because you can’t use a stupid door!” Mr L exclaims with unexpected vigour.

It takes Mimi aback and she glances at Dimentio, who blinks in astonishment.

“Oh my, gotten up on the wrong foot again, Mr L?” Dimentio smirks.

“Ugh.” Mr L growls and throws a pillow at Dimentio.

He misses and knocks over the lamp standing next to the arm chair.

“Uh oh.” Dimentio mumbles.

“Urk.” Mr L says.

“That was County’s reading lamp.” Mimi says.

“Whatever. I’m out of here.” Mr L grumbles and stands up.

“Hey, wait!” Mimi says, “I wanted to hang out? Do you have time?”

“I already said I can’t.” Mr L grunts.

“We don’t have to go anywhere.” she says, “Do you wanna have a tea party?”

“No.”

“What about the lamp?” Dimentio chimes in and is ignored.

“Card games?” Mimi tries again.

“No.” Mr L retorts.

“Then how about-”

“Can’t you just annoy Dimentio?”

“No, I already planned something else with him!”

“Then just do that now.”

“But I can’t!”

“Excuse me?” Dimentio quips in, “What is this about me being involved in something I don’t know about yet?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess, I can just ask you now.” Mimi thinks loud and turns to him, “The carnival is in town this weekend. Let’s go together.”

“Oh, uhh, well-” Dimentio says.

“Is this a date?” Mr L pulls a face.

“WHAT.” Mimi spins to him, “I’m not asking him out, I’m asking him to hang out. There’s a mile between that.”

“Just saying that it sounds like one.” Mr L shrugs.

“I’m sure Mimi didn’t-” Dimentio says.

“It’s not!” Mimi exclaims.

“Come to think of it, you haven’t gone out in quite a while.” Mr L adds.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mimi gasps.

“Nothing.” Dimentio says, “Mr L just meant tha-”

“Just saying it’s adding up.” Mr L says, “Don’t care what you do.”

“But I’m not!” Mimi angrily stomps her foot on the ground.

“Okay then.” Mr L shrugs.

They stare at each other. Mimi angrily. Mr L with indifference.

“Gosh, why did you have to make it awkward?” she groans and glances at Dimentio, “That’s not what I meant.”

“I didn’t think you meant it like that.” Dimentio smiles.

“I’m leaving then.” Mr L announces and turns to the door, when the count walks in.

“I have heard shouting and a crash, said Count-” Count Bleck says and sees his lamp, “Who was that?”

Mimi and Dimentio simultaneously point at Mr L.

“What?” Mr L exclaims, “Unbelievable.”

“Why did you knock over my lamp, required Count Bleck.” the count asked.

“I didn’t knock it over. It was Dimentio, basically.” Mr L says.

“Ah, I see.”

“Hey, I didn’t move a finger! I sat here idly like an unmovable object.” Dimentio protests.

“That is true, though.” Mimi nods.

“Then what did he do?” Count Bleck asks.

“He couldn’t shut up.” Mr L grumbles.

“That is also true.” Mimi nods again.

“On whose side are you, Mimi?” Dimentio mumbles to himself.

Count Bleck sighs and walks over to put up his lamp.

“The good lamp… I hope it still works, mumbled Count Bleck.”

He flicks the switch and the light bulb stays dark.

“How often have I told you to keep the fights in the training hall?” the count addresses them.

“I didn’t fight.” Mimi says innocently.

“Me neither.” Dimentio says.

“Neither did I.” Mr L says.

“Enough!” Count Bleck says and they shut up, “I don't want to hear another word. Mr L, you will repair the lamp. The rest of you return to your schedule.”

“Of course, it’s me...” Mr L pouts, “Oh, by the way, count, those two want to go on a date together.”

“What?” Count Bleck frowns.

“It’s not a date!” Mimi shouts in frustration.

He looks at her with no expression, but she sees it in his eyes. Mischief. _Oh, that green nuisance…_ She’ll get him for that!

“What is this about dates, demands Count Bleck.” Count Bleck asks Dimentio and Mimi.

“It’s not like that!” Mimi whines.

“Mimi just wants to go to the carnival.” Dimentio adds, “Not necessarily with me, just with company.”

“Though, she didn't say that others would come, too.” Mr L chimes in.

“Gosh, don't you have a lamp to repair?” Mimi snarls at him.

“Right, the lamp.” he grins, “I better get going.”

He grabs it and leaves, but not before grinning at her deviously. The count turns to them again and looks serious. A look that bodes ill.

“Mr L got that all wrong on purpose, County.” Mimi pouts.

“Look,” the count sighs, “I will not meddle with your personal lives as long as it doesn’t affect your performance, said Count Bleck. Just… keep your focus.”

He looks at them individually and Mimi is too embarrassed to withstand his gaze. She looks at her feet and feels her face frowing hot. She didn't even so anything! Why isn't Dimentio saying anything? He must have died of discomfort.

“Now, if you will excuse me… Count Bleck has to find a new place to read...” Count Bleck says.

“See you later.” Mimi mumbles.

“Until then.” Dimentio says.

The count leaves and Mimi dares a glance at Dimentio. He glances back. She takes a deep breath and groans loudly.

“Golly, that was embarrassing.” she says.

“Absolutely.” he says.

"He did that on intention. I know it!” she grumbles.

“Who, Mr L?” Dimentio sighs and stands up, “Without a question.”

“I’ll get back at him for that.” Mimi growls.

“Aha ha ha, me too. To be precise, right now!” he chuckles, “See you.”

“Oh, wait a second!" she says hastily, "For the carnival, I’ll just ask O’Chunks to come with us and we’ll all have a ton of fun together, ok?"

"That is... a wonderful idea, Mimikins." he says, "The more, the merrier."

"Okay, great, I'm gonna go ask him and then it's L's turn! Gosh, I'm so angry!"

"Then, I'll see you later."

"Yeah, later, Dimentio."

He snaps his fingers and teleports away. Darn that Mr L. What a meanie. He will get a wonderful surprise for his joke, later, once she has made a plan. For now, she has to make sure the carnival won’t be awkward. It’s only taking place this weekend, after all!

 _Darn that Mr L, he’ll regret this._ The wheels in her head are already spinning as goes to find O’Chunks. He was the next on the list anyways. And then she has to plan her revenge! Her feet carry her upstairs to his room, then to the kitchen and lastly to the training room where she finally finds him.

“Hey, O’Chunks!” she greets him.

He punches the sandbag once more and it swings wildly.

“Huh?” he turns to her, “Oi, Mimi, how’s it goin’?”

“Good! Very good!” she smiles, “Have you finished training?”

“Nah, not really.” he catches the bag and stops it, “Why? Somethin’ up?”

“I was just wondering if you got time this weekend?”

“Uhhh, aye, I think sae.” he mumbles and thinks for a moment, “Whaddya wanna dae?”

“Dimentio and I are going to the carnival in Flipside, please come with us!”

She puts her hands together before her chest and looks at him sweetly.

“Sounds fun, sure.” he nods and turns to the sandbag, “Who else is comin’?”

“Uhm, I think it’ll be just us.” Mimi says, “Nassy and County are always busy and I don’t wanna take L with us!”

“Huh? Why’s that?” O’Chunks frowns and continues his punches.

“Because he’s a dummy!”

“Oi? Why?"

“Ugh! Don’t ask!” she growls, “He’s the worst.”

“Ahhh. I get it.” he chuckles, “I’ll go wit’ ya, but now I gotta concentrate.”

“Great.” Mimi takes a deep breath, “I'm glad you come, really, I’m just still so mad!”

“Maybe ya should go fer a walk?”

“Maybe.” she weighs the option, “Anyways, I’ll leave you to your chunking then.”

O’Chunks chuckles about the term.

“Aye, see ya later.”

“Bye, bye!”

She hushes out of the door and walks to her room, thinking about possible penalties for dear Mr L. Why doesn’t she steal the lamp? Mr L would be in big trouble then, but that might sadden County and she doesn’t want that. She wonders what Dimentio is doing, because she’ll have to compensate with something else then. Turning on the spot, she runs back downstairs and towards Mr L’s workshop. She hears voices as she arrives at the door.

Peaking inside, she sees Mr L sitting at his working table and Dimentio standing leisurely in front of him.

"-ou from your work," Dimentio says, "but I have to make sure that you understand that I don't want any rumours to spread. Okay, Mr L? I like you, L, I wouldn't want to become your worst nightmare. You understand that, right, L? We both wouldn't like that."

Oh? Is this about the date thing? _Ugh, thanks Mr L._ He just had to make it awkward.

"Yeah, yeah, calm your bits, Dimentio." Mr L rolls his eyes.

 _Just wait. Just you wait!_ Mimi will so get him.

"I fear you don't understand how important this is to me." Dimentio says.

Ohohoho, you're getting it now, L! Dimentio sounds pissed. What was that about nightmares? _Yeah! Go Dim!_

"Geez, I didn't think you're this butt-hurt." Mr L sighs.

Mimi frowns. L's worst nightmare... Whatever it is, Dimentio could probably make it happen.

"You wouldn't find it as funny if you were in my shoes." Dimentio smiles.

Could she possibly..?

"What? Did I hit a nerve?" Mr L asks.

Well, the shapeshifter trick was really cool and she was close enough!

"In a way, yes." Dimentio says.

She could deliver Mr L the scare of his life! And destroy the heroes! Suddenly, the possibilities seem limitless.

"So what if she's into you? She'll get over it."

_This is brilliant!_

"That's not the point, it's..."

Mimi giggles madly into her hand.

"Ooooh!" Mr L grins, "So, it's that way around."

She can barely contain herself. L is so gonna get it!

"No, I meant- I meant-"

Mr L laughs. Let him laugh now, he'll soon laugh on the other side of his face!

"This is hurting our reputation!" Dimentio exclaims, "That's what I meant."

Now, how is she going to do that? She has to make changes to the spell somehow.

"Sure, sure." Mr L chuckles.

She isn't that experienced in magic. She would probably manage if she practiced enough, but she doesn't have that kind of time.

"Yes!" Dimentio says angrily, "And if you keep saying that the count will believe you and then he'll lose faith in us and won't send us out and then we'll fail!"

The count? Yeah, she could ask County! Then their last encounter comes to her mind and she's too embarrassed.

"Yeah, probably, that's what will happen."

She could ask Dimentio. Yeah, he'll help her, they're in this together after all! Mr L won't know what hit him.

"The count is our leader, we have to listen to him."

Mimi grins and brings back her focus to the conversation. Did she miss something?

"Uhuh."

"So, don't lose another word about this!"

"Alrighto." Mr L grins, "I will not say another word about your romance."

"Don't you dare." Dimentio growls.

"I would never."

Dimentio gives him another pointed look. Gosh, L is such a meanie. Mimi glares at him as well.

"Good." Dimentio says slowly, "I believe you said you had a lamp to repair."

"Yup."

"I will... see you later, then, but L?"

"Hm?"

Dimentio snaps his hand and the rocket launcher Mr L worked on previously catches fire.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?" Mr L screams and jumps up.

But Dimentio is already gone. Mimi presses a hand on her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Then the rockets launch and she flees from the destruction, the sounds of explosions echoing through the halls. She has important business to take care of, anyways. And makes her way to Dimentio's room.


	4. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mr L is so gonna get it. Once Mimi figures out how. Fortunately, Dimentio exists.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is my therapy after Forever After

The sound of explosion resonates through the tall castle corridors, rattling its old windows and shaking the roof tiles like a marching band that plays wildly out of rhythm. Dimentio flees into his room, his shoulders dropping as he listens to the last pops of firework.

_What a catastrophe._

He groans and puts his face into his hands. He wants to hide in a hole and forget this has ever happened. Never in his life has he been that embarrassed. First, Mimi asks him to accompany her out of the blue. And not just anywhere, but to a place where they would have been alone for hours, where first dates take place and where she could have asked him to ride the roller-coaster together and do other activities that would have been so much fun that he would have wished she had asked him out on a date so he could take her hand when their cabin came to a stop at the top of the Ferris wheel and his heart would be lunging out of his chest as he leans towards her to deliver a chaste-

He takes off the mask and fans himself air. The heat of the explosions still reach him. Whew, maybe he should take a cold shower to reset his thoughts.

No, Mimi is not the problem. The date that is not a date is not a problem, because it is not a date. Not even chatterbox Mr L is a problem. It’s Bleck. Bleck is a problem now. If the count suspects them, he'll keep a closer eye on them, making Dimentio's work a lot harder. Not to speak of Nastasia, who meddles way too much with their daily work already, documenting the smallest changes in their diets. If she plans to have a talk with him, he'll kill her. He won't care. He’ll just snap his fingers like his patience snaps when she talks.

...he probably won’t. No, it is more likely that he will die on the spot. Heart attack from embarrassment. It almost happened twice today. Just because he wanted to right what went wrong after recovering from his first almost-heart attack today.

_"Are you here, Mr L?" he asked friendly and nicely, having teleported into Mr L’s workshop._

_And Mr L screamed at him._

_"Gah! Seriously? The door. They're right there. Use them."_

_Maybe he_ _started their conversation on the wrong foot?_ _Is that why everything_ _s_ _piraled_ _out of his control?_ _He_ _just wanted to chat, after all._ _He didn’t mean to run his mouth. Oh no, he didn’t mean to._

What now, is the question. He agreed to Mimi’s request and O’Chunks will tag along. Well, that means an easy prolonging of the status quo. With O’Chunks on his side, he doesn’t have to worry. No one will suspect a thing. Aside from Mr L.

 _"You were gone in a rush. I just wanted to chat some more."_ _D_ _imentio_ _said, friendly and nicely still._

_"Uhuh... You sure you don't wanna plan your date instead?" Mr L asked dryly._

_T_ _hat’s when his_ _mood_ _shifted_ _and_ _he_ _had_ _to_ _force the smile to stay on his face._

He was cautious, he really was. Mr L’s jokes never lead to anything good. The trap was so obvious and navigating in Mr L’s mine fields is as easy as walking straight. He should have-

A knock on the door brings him out of his thoughts. A diversion would be most appreciated, instead of feeding into his frustration. He slips on the mask again before opening the door with a smile.

"Dimentio!" Mimi huffs, seemingly having run here.

He freezes and the mask heats up again.

"Mimi... hello." he says and the smile falters.

"I have a new perfect idea to defeat the heroes AND to get back at L!" she tells him with a bright smile.

"That is fantastic, but why don't you tell me about it later?" he says with a friendly tone, "The count ordered us to go back to our schedule."

"Oh, right!" she gasps.

Her eyes widen in surprise and she quickly looks over her shoulder, before she slips past him into his room.

"That's... that's not what I meant." he mumbles.

"I'll be gone in a second, I promise." she bites her lips and raises her hands apologetically.

"Fine." he sighs and closes the door.

He walks to his desk and sits down on the chair, striking a casual position to have a casual talk with her. A casual talk between colleagues.

"So... what have you come up with?" he asks.

"You'll be psyched!" she grins and hops onto his bed.

She makes herself comfortable and he gets a cramp in his hand from stiffening up.

"Oh, that sounds interesting." he says and clears his throat.

"You remember the spell we practised?"

Oh no, not this again.

"How could I forget?" he laughs insecurely, "Your greatest feature in magic yet! Ah ha ha!"

How could he literally forget, he wants to know! Things used to be much easier.

"Yeah, imagine that:" she says and gestures wildly, "But this time I shift into their worst fear!"

"Oh?" he says, genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, it's brilliant! I mean, what would you do if your worst fear suddenly came alive? I will take them by surprise!"

 _Mr L didn’t use a special the undertone,_ _he_ _laughed and joked as if he didn’t_ _bring_ _Dimentio into a precarious situation._

 _"Heh,_ _it was hilarious_ _. Have you seen Mimi's face?"_ _Mr L asked with a grin._

_He saw it all too good. Mimi was shocked. She was shocked that Mr L suggested such a ridiculous, unthought of, unheard of thing. Mimi asking him out on a date? Ha! Hilarious!_

She giggles and looks at him expectantly, her eyes sparkling giddily.

"Exactly!" she exclaims.

“Yes, that is a smart move, Mimi.” he says and nods slowly.

“I know right?” she grins, “Now I only need someone to help me.”

He takes a deep breath.

“ _But to be honest...” Mr L said with a devilish grin, “She isn't talking about some guy, she isn't going out, she keeps going to you for whatever. Maybe she got the hots for you."_

 _Dimentio's breath_ _got_ _stuck in his lungs and only a wheezing sound_ _escape_ _d_ _._ He feels like his throat tightens again.

“Ah, you… want to ask the count, I see.” he says, “Well, in my opinion-”

“No, no! I wanted to ask you if you could help me!” Mimi interjects.

Dimentio shuts up. His heart speeds up and he blinks.

_"You're making me worry, L..." Dimentio said, "Do you think that Mimi..?"_

_"Dunno." Mr L shrugged, "Why don't you just ask her? She probably shows up with something new again. You know, she never went to you this much."_

Yes, he knows. HE KNOWS. What he doesn't know is the reason for it! Is she just acknowledging his superior knowledge or is something else? He helped her with the shapeshifting spell and with flying. Those are two things that she could have easily asked someone else to help her with. It’s not as if he is the only magic-apt. Wait… she came up with something new.

He gulps.

“You want… my help?” he asks.

“I know I’ve been asking for a lot lately...” she says and glances away in discomfort, “I’m sorry, but I don’t know who else to ask. You know, talking to County now would only be super weird.”

He nods in understanding. This would have stood in complete contrast to her reaction to her alleged proposition. He is the only one who can help right now.

“Of course.” he sighs disappointedly.

_"That doesn't have to mean anything, it is Mimi, after all." Dimentio said calmly when Mr L presented all the evidence regarding Mimi’s interest in him._

_"No, actually, it does." Mr L hummed thoughtfully, "We're talking about Mimi here. It is weird that she is quiet."_

But it's not. This proves it. Mimi just needs his help and they are friends. He established the term between them. So, of course she uses it to call in favours. That is all. It is accidental that Mimi doesn’t chew off their ears about her latest love endeavour and the cutiepie on the street and the dates she goes on and- He unconsciously clenches his teeth again. He really needs to get a hold of that habit.

“Well, dear Nastasia has updated my schedule.” he says, “I fear I won’t have the time.”

“Oh, but please!” Mimi whines, “I’ll owe you one! And I can talk to Nassy. I’m sure I can convince her that this is super important. I mean, she didn’t mind that you were teaching me how to fly – except for this one teeny tiny part – but, you know?”

She fidgets with his blanket and looks at him pleadingly. This look is making it a harder decision than it should be.

“That would help me a lot and I’m sure we’ll have tons of fun too.” she adds quietly, “And whatever favour you need, I’ll do it. I keep my word.”

She is making it awfully hard on him.

“Mimi...” he sighs.

“Well, if it’s within reason, of course.” she grins.

He leans back and regards her, watches her changing her seating pose on his bed, crinkling his sheets.It is irritating and he’s clenching his teeth again.

“The explosions before” she says, “that was you, right?”

“No, that came from L’s workshop. The lamp must have given him trouble.”

She laughs.

“Yeah, that must have been it. If you help me, you could get back at him. What do you think?”

He sighs heavily. He would have to spend more time in her proximity and that will do no good to his peace of mind.

“Please, Dimmy?” she asks sweetly.

His heart skips a beat.

“O-okay…”

“Yes!”

She strikes a victory pose and it looks ridiculous. The corner of his mouth turns upwards.

“So, when do we start?” he asks.

“How about today evening? When we’re done with everything and nobody will suspect a thing?”

Everybody will suspect a thing if both of them are missing at the same time, but he can’t say that while looking at her bright smile. It warms him and his worry seems too small to darken it.

“Alright, training hall?” he asks.

“But that’s where they will suspect us.” she says, “Let’s go to a part of the castle that nobody uses.”

His face and hands are already burning, now his ears are getting uncomfortably warm as well.

“I don’t want anyone to see us to, you know, suspect anything other than us training together.” she adds quietly.

“Yes, of course. Then… outside.” he says and swallows hard.

“Great!” she grins and jumps up, “I wanted to explore that for forever, but I always get scared.”

She giggles again, while his breath gets stuck.

“Y-yeah. That sounds… exciting.”

“Great, I’ll see you later then!” she grins and her happiness spreads over to him, “I’m looking forward to training! Ha, listen to me, I sound ridiculous.”

She chuckles.

“No, not at all.” he smiles, “I look forward to it as well.”

She grins again, then opens the door, waves as a farewell and disappears. Dimentio stares at the door, a smile on his face.He feels uncomfortably hot, almost melting, but excitement has gotten the better of him.

Nastasia finishes the last note and closes O’Chunks essay. The spelling errors are driving her nuts. Today won’t be the day she finishes the correction, she needs a break. She has been at it for several hours after their return to Castle Bleck and another two hours after dinner. There is still a mountain of paperwork to do. Surprisingly enough, she still feels energetic though. Mimi wasn’t too wrong about taking a break. With a cup of tea this essay will be less exhausting, maybe she’ll get to page 783 tonight.

She is already out of the door when Count Bleck calls for her.

“Nastasia, do you have a minute, asked Count Bleck.” he says.

She turns and sees the count walking towards her. Hm, that is a bit too quickly for his normal pace.

“Yes, count?” she replies, “What, uhm, can I do for you?”

“I would like to hear your opinion on something.” he says and opens the door to her office.

He wants to speak in private. A thought of worry builds in the back of her mind.

“Thank you.” she says as she passes him and sits down in the chair on front her desk, giving him the option to choose her chair.

The count closes the door and passes on the chance to claim authority, instead looking out of the window. This is not a matter of management or daily subjects. The thought or worry grows.

“What, uhm, is the matter, count?” she asks.

“Today, Count Bleck has been informed of a matter I did neither foresee nor notice.” he says mysteriously while dramatically looking out of the window.

“K? What happened?” she asks on.

“Have you been aware that...” he hesitates for a moment, “that there is a romance blossoming within our own ranks?”

She perks up.

“What? Who?” she gasps, “No, I wasn’t aware of any of the sort.”

“Well...” he says and glances at her before returning to looks out of the window, shifting on the spot, “Dimentio and Mimi.”

“What.” Nastasia deadpans.

“Yes, apparently.” he sighs.

“How do you… Why do think that? Uhm...”

“They have asked for my blessing, in a way.” he says, “It didn’t appear that they wanted to make it public yet. It seems to be… fresh.”

Nastasia blinks. No way. There must be some sort of information missing. She stares at him and blinks.

“I think, the only reason it came up was thanks to Mr L. He has noticed it and brought it up.” he mumbles.

Mr L? Oh, that explains everything. Inwardly, she sighs in relieve, but one thing does interest her.

“And, uhm, how did you react?” she asks, “What did you, well, proclaim?”

“I don’t say I am supporting this development. It is going to harm their unity sooner or later. Either they grow too close and lose focus or they fall apart and willingly let harm come to the other.” he shakes his head and pauses for a moment, “Nonetheless, I have not forbidden it, said Count Bleck.”

“Oh.” Nastasia says.

Of course, the count only sees the rational part of the problem. He never lets the other side of him speak, even if it’s the one that is primarily addressed. Her gaze falls onto her hands for a moment, an uncomfortable silence extending. She wonders what his honest thoughts are.

“Well, if you ask me” she says, “I don’t think that there will be any, uhm, sorrows. Seeing as Mr L brought it up, it was part of a joke probably. You know those three. Also, yeah, it does explain why the workshop caught fire today.”

“Hmm.” he hums grimly, then turns to her, “I have thought the same, but why then would they sneak through the castle at this hour?”

He nods towards the window and Nastasia frowns. With uneasy steps, she walks to him and peeks outside. Hardly to be seen from this window, but visible nonetheless, is a room dimly lit in the East wing of the castle, a part of the castle that they never use.

“Uhm...”

Nastasia is speechless.

“The heroes will soon enough make themselves known again.” Count Bleck says, “The void is growing steadily. The worlds will soon end.”

He doesn’t say what is obvious, leaves the words hang between them. She understands and nods.

“I would say then… let them while they can.” she says quietly.

The count hums grimly in an agree and they watch the light moving into the next room, the room going dark again.

“I always wanted to explore this part of the castle.” Mimi says quietly as they walk through the dusty halls, “I was once here, you know? But I didn’t stay long, it’s really spooky here.”

“There is nothing to worry about, Mimi.” Dimentio says, floating besides her, “The worst we will find here are spiders.”

“And spiders aren’t scary at all.”

“Exactly.”

She grins at him and he smiles back. They leave the hall and turn at the next corner. So far, most rooms have been locked and the next doors Mimi tries to open are also locked.

“Have you been here before?” she asks.

“Briefly when I moved in.” he simply says, “There isn’t much to find here.”

She skips to the last door of the hall, fails to pull it open and pouts at him.

“Are all the rooms locked here?” she asks sadly.

“Ah ha ha. Have you not prepared for this instance?” Dimentio muses.

“What? Do you want me to break them open?” Mimi frowns, “No way. County is gonna scold me.”

“Don’t you know somebody who can pick locks?” he asks.

“Why would I… Oh, hmm...” she thinks for a moment, then sighs, “The only one who might be able to do it is L, but I wouldn’t put my money on him.”

Now, Dimentio frowns in return. He raises his hand and snaps his fingers. The lock behind her clicks audibly.

“Huh? Gosh, I didn’t know you meant-” she hits her forehead playfully, “I didn’t think of that.”

He floats to her side, opens the door and glances at her.

“What did you think?” he asks.

She grins apologetically and shrugs. Opening the door for her, she slips past him and shoots him a smile. He takes a moment to look around, his heart beating heavily and he focuses on the task at hand. The room could have been used for anything, there is a fireplace. Maybe it was a lounge, maybe a bedroom, maybe an office.

“Is this furniture?” she wonders loudly as she steps deeper into the room, ogling the covered objects.

“Most probably.” he says, lifting up the curtain of something nearby.

It reveals an old looking cupboard.

“Looks super old.” she comments as she looks at something in the back of the room.

“Considering that the castle should be old, I’m not surprised.” he says, letting go of the curtain and looking at other old pieces of furniture.

This must have been an office of sorts.

“How boring.” Mimi mumbles.

It makes him chuckle.

“What did you think would be here?” he asks.

“Dunno, secrets.” she says.

Oh?

“Are you accusing our dear count of keeping secrets from us?” he asks in humorous tone.

“Everyone has secrets.” she says and he can hear her rolling her eyes.

“And what kind of secrets could the count have?” he teases on.

“Dunno.” she says, looking underneath the remaining curtains before looking at him, “You know, County did react weirdly that one time, but I don’t think he’s actually hiding something from us. At least, nothing that we need to know.”

He looks at her quizzically, but she just shrugs and points into a direction.

“Hey, there is a door.”

She skips to said door and rattles the old door handle. It opens.

“Ooooh, let’s go.” she says, grinning back at him.

His mind still processes the new information, nonetheless he flies back to the first door and closes it, instantly clouding them in darkness. He can barely make out Mimi’s form, but it’s enough to safely find his way to her side. When he lands next to her, her head snaps to him.

“You better not dump me here.” she mutters.

“Hm? Can’t spiders see in the dark?” he frowns.

“Uhm, no? Where did you get that from?”

“Well, because they hunt between dusk and dawn.”

“Not all do. Besides, I’m not a spider right now. I’m just… me.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” he hums.

He regards her for a moment, the outline of Mimi standing before him. _Why don't you just ask her?_ It really is dark in here, he could-

“Can you make a light of something?” she asks, “I, uhh, didn’t think there would be no light switches here.”

Ah, too late.

“Sure.”

He snaps his fingers and creates a flame hovering above his hand. Mimi blinks at the sudden light, but seems relieved.

“Shall we go on?” he asks.

She smiles at him and nods. Taking the lead, Mimi walks into the next room, Dimentio following right behind her.

“So, what do you expect to find in this dungeon?” he asks.

“Dungeon?” she repeats amused, “Golly, I don’t know. I hope we don’t run into ghosts.”

He closes the door and takes a look around, Mimi being several steps ahead of him. This must be placeholder for a gallery. It has the size and the structure of one, but it is missing all pieces of art. He walks to the closest wall.

“Do you believe in ghosts?” he asks absently.

“No,” comes Mimi’s voice from somewhere behind him, “only in duplighosts and boos.”

Is he imagining things or does this part of the wall look lighter than the rest? Almost as if something preserved this part.

“I’ve met some.” Mimi adds, “So, I guess you can’t really call that believe.”

“Hm, no, that is knowing.” he says and inspects another part.

She chuckles and walks up to him.

“It looks like something was hung up in here, doesn’t it?” she says.

He glances at her. She stands so close to him, they’re almost touching shoulders, but she focuses on the wall in front of them and he should to.

“ _It made her hella nervous.”_ _Mr L said about the situation in the lounge._

Him, too, and now he is once again.

“Yeah.” he says slowly.

“Do you think County took off the pictures?” she turns to him, “Or was it like that already before?”

“That is hard to tell.” he says.

Very nervous, especially if she stands this close to him.

“I wonder if we will find them?” she smirks and he shrugs.

“Shall we go on then?” he asks and she nods excitedly.

“The next door is over there!”

She leads him to the exit and pulls at the door, this one is locked. Turning to him with a silent request written on her face, he responds by using the same little trick as before. The lock clicks audibly and with a grin, she opens the door.

It leads them into an empty lounge. Mimi doesn’t see any reason to linger here and immediately walks to the first of three more doors.

“I would like to ask you something.” he says as he follows her into the next room, a dead end.

“What is it?” she asks and walks back and to the next door.

He follows her dutifully.

“What did you mean by the count having secrets?” he asks.

The next room is a small kitchen. Some utensils are still here and it concludes in a storage room.

“Just that he has normal secrets.” she shrugs.

She looks at him neutrally as she passes him to walk back into the lounge. It only intrigues him more.

“What are normal secrets?” he asks amusedly.

They unlock the last door and find themselves in the hall again.

“Huh.” Mimi says and looks around, “We’re back.”

“Looks like it.” he says, “Let’s try upstairs.”

She nods and they walk back to the stairs.

“So?” Dimentio asks again.

“Well,” Mimi hums, “normal secrets are just normal stuff. It doesn’t have anything to do with others. Like, what he did before for example. I mean, he answers that kind of stuff if you ask him, but he doesn’t talk about it because he wants to talk about it.”

They reach the stairs and begin their climb.

“Or maybe he talks with Nastasia.” she adds.

“Hm, they are very close. I wouldn’t be surprised.” he says.

“Maybe a little too close.”

He frowns at her and they reach the next floor. She notices his look and gives him a strained expression.

“It’s not good for her.” she explains.

So, Mimi noticed that, too.

“Ah, that, yes.” he says.

A short silence erupts between them and they look into the hall laying before them, many doors and one turn at the end leading to many secrets. Well, more rooms with furniture, but he doesn’t want to diminish Mimi’s fun.

“So, where to next?” he asks.

With a contagious smile, she points at the first door and they proceed to walk through rooms, unlocking doors and finding a lot of empty rooms. Most of them are bedrooms, allowing him to conclude that this must have been the wing to accommodate for guests. Nothing he is particularly surprised of, he was here before, but he enjoys himself. All the small smiles and glances, his chest feels cuddly warm.

“ _But to be honest...”_ _Mr L said, “_ _She isn't_ _g_ _ossiping_ _, she isn't going out, she keeps going to you for whatever. Maybe she got the hots for you.”_

Is it naive to start believing him? He thinks over his conversation once again. He didn’t mean to lose control of his tongue.

“ _So, it's that way around!” Mr L said._

It is… complicated. He stares at an old painting, when he hears a shuffling sound behind him. Turning, he finds Mimi having thrown away the curtain of a sofa and flopping down with a groan.

“There’s a lot of rooms on this floor.” she says and leans her head onto the arm rest.

A smile tugs on his lips again. He strolls to her and sits down on the other end, her feet next to him.

“It’s a big castle.” he says.

“Hm.” she hums in agreement, “Do you think County has always lived here?”

“I doubt it.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think he did?” he asks back.

“Well, because it’s called Castle Bleck.”

_Duh._

“Aha.” he says, “That explains everything. You are right. I shouldn’t doubt your wisdom.”

She shuffles and kicks him playfully.

“You can say that with a little more conviction.” she huffs.

He chuckles and his glance goes from her retracting foot to her relaxed face. Her eyes are closed, as if she wants to take an afternoon nap in the lounge, falling asleep while watching TV. The smile takes over.

“Maybe one day.” he says.

The count has not lived her for a long time. For all he has gathered, he can’t even be sure if this is the castle he thinks it to be. There are a lot of questions surrounding this place and its current owner, but they all fade in importance when he tries to find the answer to the most mysterious question. _Why don’t you just ask her?_

“Are you tired, Mimi?” he asks softly.

“Hm-hm!” she shakes her head, “Just taking a break.”

She opens her eyes and stretches before sitting up.

“Wanna go on?” she asks.

“We can.” he answers.

“Then, let’s go to last floor. I have a good feeling about it.”

She jumps up and holds out her hand to him. He hesitates for a missing heartbeat, then lets her help him up. They then walk back to the stairs silently, he almost doesn’t notice that they reach the top without a word. The silence feels comforting to him.

“There is...” he starts insecurely, “something that doesn’t add up for me.”

“Ah? And what?” she glances at him over her shoulder and almost trips.

She catches herself at the handrail and while his free hand is still outstretched to offer support, she clears her throat.

“Oops.” she says.

“Everything alright?” he asks.

“Yeah, yeah.” she says dismissively, “So, what did you wanna say?”

She rushes the rest of the stairs and waits for him at the top.

“Just, uhm, well, while I don’t think the count is hiding anything either... but you said he acted weird?” he asks slowly.

Mimi is definitely tired.

“Oh, that?” she tilts her head and thinks for a moment, then shrugs, “That was just because I for his opinion on love.”

“Love?”

He stiffens up and looks at her in surprise. Suddenly, those last steps seem impossible.

“Yeah, it was really awkward.” she snorts, “We were talking about books and it somehow came up. Anyways, I think he’s had some bad luck in the past.”

“Ah, so he was not the best source of advice.” Dimentio says slowly, processing the new information.

“I didn’t ask him for advice.” she retorts, “If anything I am the one giving advice. You’re all hopeless.”

He somehow makes it to her, not feeling all too well in the stomach region. Taking a deep breath after the climb, he nods into the direction of the hall.

“Let’s go on, shall we?” he says.

“Yeah.” she smiles and takes the lead.

They find another set of empty or poorly furnished rooms. He trots after her and digests the facts he has gotten. Mimi is still interested in love. He knew that, but what does it mean that she wants to talk about it? Is it because she finds herself in a new situation that calls for male advice? His ears burn and he doesn’t wonder whether or not it’s because of the thick cloth of his hat.

“Dimentio?” she calls him.

“What?”

He snaps out of his thoughts and turns to her.

“The door?” she points at it, “Or do you wanna stay here some more?”

“Ah, no.”

He isn’t interested in this office either. Walking up to her, he shoots her a smile before snapping his fingers to open the path for them. Pushing the door open, Mimi steps inside.

“Hey, this looks like a good place for our training session.” she says.

Closing the door behind him, he takes a look at the empty room. In the corner stands what looks like a piano, but otherwise there is even enough space for combat practice.

“We have been walking for quite a while.” he weighs, “Like an amateur adventurer roaming ruins in hope of finding the exit. Aren’t you tired?”

“Nah, I’m good. Why? Are you tired?” she walks to one of the windows and looks outside, “Hey, I can see the big tower from here. I think this is the tower at the end of the wing.”

She turns to him.

“Or is it that you don’t wanna witness my super spooky performance?” she smirks, “I can understand that, though.”

“You’re on a good way on being dumped now.” he says.

“Oh no, please don’t!” she cries theatrically.

He shoots her a look, then distinguishes the flame, bringing them back into darkness. She laughs.

“ _You don't actually think that, do you?”_ _Dimentio asked Mr L._

“ _Hmm, I'm not sure.”_ _he responded._

It’s light and his cheeks begin to burn due to the constant smiling, genuine smiling. He snaps his fingers again, illuminating the room once more.

“Let me remind you that you owe me for this.” he says.

“Yeah, I know!” she says cheerfully, “Now, come here.”

She waves to him and sits down. In a polite distance, he sits down in front of her.

“So, what is the plan?” he asks.

“Well...” she says, striking a lotus seat and looking at him expectantly, “Okay, so, I was thinking that all I had to do was changing the spell a little, but I don’t know if magic works that way. I just kind of concentrated on what I wanted to find.”

She shrugs awkwardly, as if she apologized for not knowing any better.

“That is close enough.” he says, leaning back on his free hand, “Magic is very intuitive. So, you want to turn into my worst fear as a beginning?”

“That kind of was the plan, why? Do you not wanna do it anymore?” she asks.

“That’s not it, but in my case it is not a living being. I don’t know if it will work, but you could try to find the correct way. You probably feel some sort of indicator if you have succeeded, right?”

“Hm...” she thinks for a moment, “Yeah, my skin tingles before I shift. I felt it with the spell, too, even though it didn’t work with you.”

“Maybe you have difficulties with other beings with arcane powers.” he says.

“Maybe.”

She shrugs and thankfully leaves it at that. He smiles. This is exciting. He often wondered where Mimi’s limits laid.

“So, are you going to try it?” he asks.

“Yup!” she says and straightens her back, “Though, I might need a moment. Or… a while. But you can just, uhh, look at the stars.”

She gestures to the window that gives view to a cloudy sky.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll know how to keep myself occupied.” he says.

She smiles, then closes her eyes and Dimentio observes her curiously. She concentrates and for a while nothing happens, then she shakes her shoulders and head as if something crawled up her spine.

“Brrrr.” she groans and opens her eyes again.

“What happened?” he asks, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m alright.” she sighs, “I swear, I was so close, but I couldn’t shift.”

“Well, I said it’s not a person nor an animal.” he says.

“Yeah, maybe that was it.”

She glances out of the window and breathes through. It’s visible that she needs a moment, so they take a break. Well, Mimi takes a break, Dimentio just sat there and looked at her. He doesn’t need a break from it.

“Did you find anything?” he asks.

“I’m… not sure.” she mumbles, “I don’t know how it works for you, but I don’t see or hear things. I just have a feeling that it’s going to work if I shift now.”

“Hm, I see.” he hums, “It is different from what I now then.”

“Well, you don’t shift as far as I know.” she weighs, “I guess it should work differently then.”

“Yes, different disciplines work differently, that is right.” he chuckles.

She rolls her eyes.

“Gee, thanks, wise guy.” she says.

A quiet moment passes in which they just look at the few interesting spots in the room. So far, his heart is keeping up with the situation. This is nice.

“ _Why don’t you just ask her?” Mr L said._

Is this the right moment? He looks at her and meets her gaze.

“Say… what is it that I might shift into?” she asks quietly, “I mean, if you don’t mind telling me.”

“Uh, oh...” Dimentio says.

“I won’t tell anyone else, I promise.” she adds and tilts her head in an adorable manner.

“Well...” he mumbles and gets lost in her curious look, “It’s fire.”

“Fire?”

He clenches his teeth and just looks at her. Her casts her gaze downwards, then back at him.

“I see.” she smiles, “For me it’s frogs.”

“Frogs?”

“Slimy, little things.” she says and trembles theatrically, “And some are even poisonous!”

“Hm, I can see that.”

They share a smile.

“I wonder if I can turn into fire.” she hums, “Sounds kinda strange, doesn’t it?”

“Indeed.” he nods, “I mean, have you ever shifted into an object?”

“Uhh, no. I don’t think I can do that.”

“Then maybe, tonight will be a failure.”

“Pish-posh.” she says, “I feel like I’m going in the right direction and you’re a big help.”

He looks at her and hopes that she doesn’t notice the heat emanating from his face.

“I meant it, you know? When I said we should hang out more.” she adds, “I can talk to you. It’s... easier than with the others. It’s kinda hard to explain.”

His chest tightens, but it doesn’t feel uncomfortable in the slightest.

“No, I know what you mean.” he says softly and smiles.

She returns his look and her smile slowly dies down, but she doesn’t look away. The nightly breeze must have her freezing, she gets goosebumps and her cheeks and nose are reddening. It looks wonderful on her.

She blinks and clears her throat, changing her seating position.

“Let me try one last time, then we can go back if… if you like.” she says.

“Alright.”

He switches hands to hold the flame in and watches her in mild excitement. The probability of her success has dropped to almost null, but he is content just watching her some more.

Mimi puts her hands loosely on her knees and concentrates. The focused frown together with the blush makes it a unique view and he wants to preserve this moment. He has never gotten the chance to unapologetically study her like this. She was truly a beau-

She tilts forwards, then she scares up.

“Huh!” she says.

“Mimi?” he frowns.

She stares at him.

“I’m-.” she says and yawns, “It’s really cold here.”

“Did you just fall asleep?”

“...no.”

He blinks at her.

“Come.” he sighs and stands up.

“Nah, I’m good, just a little cold-”

A yawn interrupts her.

“Yes?” he asks.

She looks at him as if she wants to argue, but then doesn’t. He offers her a hand and helps her up. Shaking off the flame, he snaps his fingers and teleports them to Mimi’s room. There, he lets her hand go and nervously fidgets with himself before reminding that she doesn’t know where he brought them. With another snap, he flicks on the lamp on her night stand.

“Ahhh.” she says appreciatingly and slumps down on her bed, “Thanks.”

“Well, that was not much of a training...” he sighs.

“Hm, no I guess not, but it was interesting.” she smiles tiredly at him, “Thanks for coming with me.”

“Your welcome. And also you owe me.”

The smile turns into smirk and his heart flutters.

“Yeah. Still.” she says.

He stares at her for a moment, not knowing what to say next. He should leave, Mimi needs rest. She fumbles with her blanket and wraps it around herself, her cheeks instantly reddening with warmth.

“Well, it is late.” he says.

“Yeah, but it was fun. Let’s do that again some time?” she asks, “Or something else?”

His heart stops fluttering. He gulps.

“Yeah, gladly.”


	5. Scares and frights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor boy L. Oh wait, not really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I put up the tag "no plot" and then immediately came up with plot? Yeah, there will be some more chapters.

Mimi floats. Her mind is at peace, her stomach is focused, her brain repeating the same sentence over and over again. She can do this, only a few more minutes. It is going good. She hasn’t fallen so far. She doesn’t want to fall. It would hurt a bunch if she fell.

She opens an eye a teensy tiny bit and her concentration breaks instantly. The floor greets her with cold, hard arms and she yowls, standing up again. She rubs her bruised bottom. What was that, one metre? She missed the pillow she had placed for reasons of precaution, but this time it was only a hand width. She is getting better at this.

A sigh escapes her. Yes, she improves, but it’s so tedious. With Dimentio it was entertaining at least, but she supposes he is right. She can do without him now, it’s only a matter of time. If she sticks to the schedule that Nastasia put up for her, she’ll have this done in another week or two. It’s been just a night since she took a day off and already she could use another vacation.

Another rub at the bruise and she sits down on the pillow, legs pulled into lotus position, back straight and hands loosely on her knees. Deep inhales and slow exhales. Slowly, her mind comes to rest and she thinks about yesterday’s feat. When she sat down just like this, concentrating on the person opposite of her, putting herself into his head and reaching for his core.

The uncomfortable memory rises again and her concentration breaks. Her shoulders slump and she impatiently taps her nails against her knee. Something about yesterday was very weird, the curious thought at the back on her mind wants to push itself into the centre of attention again and she can barely hold it back. 

When she reached out for his core, she had a bad foreboding, something made her stomach upset and she got nervous out of sudden. It only happened that one time and it didn’t happen when she tried that first spell on him. If she compared it, the feeling of the first spell was cosy while the second spell was nerve-wrecking. Thinking of frogs might not b e pleasant, b ut it isn’t frightening. Given, thinking  of a frog is not facing an actual frog.  _Brrr_ , that might get her stomach upset for real.

H mm, before she delivers Mr L his well deserved surprise, she should test this on someone else. If she feels the same as with Dimentio, she won’t be able to pull it off. Besides, if Mr L is afraid of some object, she might not be able to pull it off at all. 

She gets back on her feet, grabs the pillow and heads for the door. Well, she could ask Dimentio to do some digging on the matter, but then Mr L will suspect him, too. Mimi isn’t sure if Dimentio wants to be pulled in, although it’s more fun to team up.

With a grin on her face, she brings back the pillow to her room and searches for somebody to train with. The problem is... whoever she chooses will either get a massive scare or the information will leak to Nastasia and then she’ll put up another schedule change. Gee, Mimi can’t count the number of different schedules she has had,  she can’t remember her current one .  That means Nastasia and Count Bleck are off the roster, Mr L too, Dimentio she has already tried, so… O’Chunks it is!

She finds him  in the lounge, watching TV, and skips to his side.

“Hey, O’Chunks!” she cheers.

“Oi, hey, lass.” he shoots her a smile, “What’s up?”

“A lot! Like... can I ask you for a favour?” she bats her eyes at him sweetly.

“Uhm, that depends.” he says slowly, “Whaddya wanna do?”

“I need someone to train with! You remember the last trick? I developed it further.”

“Oh? That’s great, but what do ya need me fer?” he says, still unsure.

“Well, I need to test it, but don’t worry!” she says quickly, “It doesn’t hurt and I’ll explain what will happen, so you won’t be scared.”

O’Chunks laughs.

“Me? Scared? Who said that? I was jus’ thinkin’ that ye always hae the wildes’ ideas.” he grins, “Was surprised ‘bout the las’ one, too.”

“Of course!” she grins back, “Am I not known to have the best ideas?”

“I said wild, but who knows?” he sits up, “Okay, what’s tis ‘bout?”

“I wanna trick the heroes, I wanna scare them real good.” she says, “Give them the biggest scare they ever had.”

“Okay?”

“By shifting into their worst fear!”

“Uhh, whut?”

“Yeah!” she cheers, “Please help me, I already tried it on somebody else, but I need more exercise. I won’t do anything, I swear. I just shift quickly and then immediately shift back.”

H e blinks at her in silence, face blank.  _Uh oh._

“Pretty please?” she asks sweetly.

“Uhm, sure.” he says slowly, “I mean, it’s tae help ye defeat Maria, right? Then let’s do it!”

“Yes!” she shouts, “That’s the spirit!”

She steps back to give him space as he stands up, she grins widely at him and squirms at the spot. L is so close from getting it!

“So?” he asks, turning off the TV before looking at her, “Whaddya need me tae do?”

“You don’t have to do anything, you just stand there. All I need is a moment.” she says excitedly, “Though, what am I going to shift into? Is it scary or could it break something?”

“Uhh… hmm.” he hums and strokes his beard in thought, “I’m not sure. I haen’t really thought ‘bout it. Hmm… cannae really think ‘bout anythin’, tae be honest.”

“Oh.” she frowns, then smiles, “That’s cool. Maybe nothing will happen then… or it’s gonna be a surprise.”

She laughs lightly, but wonders if a heart attack is incoming. The day doesn’t have to be ruined…

“Let’s find out!” O’Chunks laughs.

“Okay.” Mimi nods, then sits down in the spacious front of the lounge, “Come over here.“

He takes place on the carpet in front of her, leisurely leaning back on one hand.

“Okay then, take yer time.” he says.

She shoots him a smile, closes her eyes and concentrates. If she is anyone to judge magic, she would say it feels completely different than with Dimentio. Her fingertips tingle, the hair on her neck stand up, she feels anxiety building in her stomach, but it isn’t crawling up her spine and it doesn’t make her break out in cold sweat. It feels… less dreadful, but still unpleasant.

She shifts, she feels that she grows and that her stance changes. O’Chunks makes a surprised noise, he moves minimally, maybe he is taken aback. Opening her eyes again, she is met with a more than surprised face. He is staring at her in disbelief. Did it work?

“Have I shifted?” she asks in a man’s voice, “Huh?”

She looks down at her hands in her lap. They have turned into wrinkled, bony, human hands. Her legs look the same, old and bony.

“I cannae believe it...” she hears O’Chunks mumble.

She looks back at him.

“Who is this?” she asks.

“Bwah, it’s that ol’ geezer who used tae beat me and me lads when we did anythin’.” he grunts.

Mimi frowns.

“He was me village’s nightmare. At least, fer us kids. Ye couldn’t get around a beatin’ with him.” he shakes his head, “Completely forgot ‘bout him...”

She shifts back into her old self.

“Oh… I’m sorry, O’Chunks, I didn’t mean to bring up old memories.” she says quietly.

“Nah, it’s fine.” he says, visibly relaxing now that she is herself again, “As a kid ye’re scared o’ everythin’, but when ye gettin’ older it becomes fine. Ha, ye shoulda seen him when me and me pals went up tae him as young lads, he didnae dare say a word.”

He chuckles softly. Mimi nods silently. She feels as if she ripped open a wound. She didn’t mean to.

“Looks like my new trick works.” she mumbles weakly.

“Aye, worked fine if ye ask me.” he says.

“Do you think that will scare the hero?” she asks, not wanting a silence to erupt.

“Aye, I think ye will give him a good fright.” he nods slowly, “And if not, it should give ya a few seconds to sneak an attack. Though… ye need a moment to prepare, eh? That could be difficult.”

“Oh, yeah, I haven’t thought about that yet.” she mumbles.

She really hasn’t thought about that yet. How is she going to scare Mr L if he sees her sitting in front of him?

“Hmmm.” she hums.

“Ye could use a distraction maybe.” O’Chunks says, stroking his beard in thought, “Or shift while ye’re hidden and surprise them.”

“That sounds good. Thank you so much, O’Chunks, you’re such a big help.” she says with a smile.

“Ye’re welcome, lassie.” he smiles back and stands up, “It’s, err, interesting how yer stuff works. I had no idea ye could pull that off.”

“Yeah, well, I keep surprising myself too.” she says and laughs nervously.

He offers her a hand and helps her up.

“Hey, could you… not tell Nastasia about this?” she asks quietly, “You know, she always changes my schedule and it’s… annoying.”

“Aye, I just got a new one, too. I won’t say a thin’.”

She beams at him.

“Thanks, O’Chunks!”

“Ye’re welcome. So, do ya need me fer anythin’ else?”

“Nope! Not in the moment. I gotta go now, train some more. See you later!”

She skips to the door and waves at him in goodbye.

“Aye, see ya.” O’Chunks says and sits back down in the arm chair, grabbing for the TV remote.

Once outside the room, Mimi isn’t sure how to proceed. She takes a deep breath and walks to her room. It was kind of weird, seeing a seasoned warrior like O’Chunks this spooked. Maybe using the spell on her friends is in general a bad idea, but how else can she test it? Besides, O’Chunks and Dimentio didn’t deserve it, but Mr L does! This is payback for embarrassing her in front of the count!

She arrives at her room and flops down on her bed. She won’t feel bad when Mr L screams in fright, she won’t stay in her shifted form anyways, she wants to laugh at him, after all… right? She can’t help it, doubts are settling in her mind, mostly because of Dimentio and his strange fear. Why would he be afraid of fire, of all things? It… it was almost palpable. And the way he looked at her… Why did he look at her like that?

She rolls onto her stomach and groans into the mattress. This stupid thought escapes its prison in the back on her mind and she wonders again if she made him uncomfortable? Did she overstep a line? They have only recently become friends and she is glad that they have. She doesn’t want to ruin that.

Yesterday night was fun, Dimentio is fun. The time must have been the mistake. They stayed up way too late and today she was sleepy and he must have had a rough day thanks to her and now… she is kind of dreading to talk to him again. Maybe he is grumpy. Well, she doesn’t have to do it now, does she? She hasn’t seen County in a while, being occupied with training and her day off with her other friends, but it’s surely going to be awkward. She was low-key relieved when she didn’t meet him at dinner that day and since then they have been silencing the topic. If Mr L knew they took him seriously, she wouldn’t hear the end of it. 

Suddenly, her mind is more than clear. In the next moment she is out of her room again, roaming the castle in search for Dimentio. They have to discuss the last step of their mission. Before that, she has to find him. He isn’t in his room, not in the training hall, not with O’Chunks in the lounge nor in the workshop with L.

Very strange, where could he be? She walks past Nastasia’s office, but asking her about Dimentio’s whereabouts when she most probably talked with County about her rumoured relationship? Wait, Nastasia would never believe that, Nastasia knows her. Mimi knocks at her door and steps in.

The assistant looks up from the file lying in front of her, the pen stopping in motion. Mimi shoots her a smile.

“Sorry, Nassy, just wanted to ask you something.” she says.

“It’s ok, uhm, what is it?” Nastasia replies, shoving the glasses on her nose a bit higher.

“Have you seen Dimentio? I can’t find him.”

“Dimentio?” Nastasia repeats and pauses, thinks, “Yeah, I think he should have free time right now. So, I can’t tell where he might be.”

“Ah, okay.” Mimi says and waves, “See you then.”

“Wait, Mimi!”

“Yeah?”

“Is it about training?” Nastasia asks, “I believe he said you should be fine on your own.”

Oh no, she is about to change their schedules again.

“No, I just wanted to hang out.” Mimi replies.

“Ah, k. In that case, well, sorry I can’t help you.” Nastasia nods and clicks her pen like she always does when she thinks about something.

_Oh uh._

“Don’t worry, Nassy. It’s not that important anyway.” Mimi laughs nervously, “I will just hang out with O’Chunks. It’s not like Dimentio is my only friend around.”

“How is your training going?”

“Oh, it’s going fine.”

“That’s good to hear, do you mind if I come around tomorrow?”

“Not at all.”

Mimi smiles and groans internally. Not another exam. Nastasia will make her do extra chores, she knows it.

“K...” Nastasia says, her pen clicking one last time, “Mimi, uhm, the count is worried that... you and Dimentio, well-”

“No!” Mimi splutters, “That was just L! He just said that because he broke the lamp and got into trouble and Dimentio and me were just standing there, but he got real angry with us and then he said that just when County walked in and he heard it and-”

“Okay, okay, good.” Nastasia nods, “I already thought so, but I had to ask.”

Mimi gasps for breath.

“Gee, Nastasia!” she whines.

“I had to ask.” Nastasia shoves the glasses higher again, “Believe me, I don’t want to spend energy on this topic.”

She puts the pen away and sighs.

“I will talk to the count and, uhm, correct this misunderstanding.” she says.

“Big thanks, Nassy.” Mimi sighs in relief, “It was so embarrassing, I could never talk to him again if he thinks that.”

Nastasia frowns.

“Is that not a little, uhm, dramatic?” she asks.

Mimi looks at her in astonishment.

“Absolutely not.” she replies, “I would die.”

“Okay, Mimi.” Nastasia smiles, “I will see to it, but now I need to finish some things.”

“Okay, Nassy, see you later.”

Mimi waves at her, Nastasia replying with a smile, and closes the door again. Huh, no Dimentio, but that is even better. Nastasia will handle it...As the news settle in, a big grin comes to her face. Her beloved count won’t speculate anymore, that means she can have normal conversations with him again. Golly, she hadn’t realized how heavilythis weighed on her.

With a skip in her steps, she continues her search. She doesn’t find him at any of the suspected places, so she tries one more time at his room before giving up, she could just enjoy her free time as well. She knocks and a voice comes from the other side of the room.

“One moment!” Dimentio shouts.

As promised the door opens a moment later. The mask smiles at her as usual.

“Ah, Mimi, hello.” he says and she can also hear a smile.

“Hi, Dim, do you have a moment?” she asks.

“For you? Of course.”

He steps aside and motions for her to step in.

“Thanks.”

She passes him and takes place on his bed like last time.

“How is your day going?” he asks, closes the door and floats to his desk chair.

Mimi smiles in return, pulling her legs into a comfortable position, and takes a quick look around. Everything is as she had it in mind, tidy as usual.

“My day’s been fine. I was training, mostly.” she says, “And you? Have I interrupted you in something?”

“My day was good, too, thank you for asking.” he says, “I was just thinking over some things, nothing too important that you could interrupt me in.”

“Ah, good. I was worried, since I’ve been bothering you so much lately.”

“You’re no bother, Mimi.” he chuckles,” So, what can I do for you today?”

“Why do you think that I’m not just coming over to hang out?”

“Oh, are you?”

“Well… technically no, but... we could hang out afterwards? If you’re not busy?” she says slowly.

He doesn’t seem grumpy, that relieves her. It might not have bothered him too much spending half the night with her.

“I mean, if you wanna nap I get that.” she adds quickly, “I think I should catch up on some sleep as well.”

“Oh, no, I will just go to bed early today.” he says, resting his head against the chairback.

She gets that feeling that he is smiling at her and it eases her distress, her smile relaxes and becomes broader.

“Great!” she says, “I was practising the spell some more and I think I’m ready, but I’m not sure how to go on.”

“Ah, so you come to me to scheme like two foxes aiming to rob the same coop.” he muses.

“Something like that, yeah, do you have an idea?” she asks, “Because, I need a moment to concentrate and L must not see me before that.”

“Hmmm.” he hums.

A finger comes to the mouth of his mask, thoughtfully tapping it.

“You need someone to distract L.” he says.

“Well, that is one option...” she says, “But… well, I can’t trade in any more favours, I already owe you one, but maybe we could think of something else.”

“But I don’t ask for anything in return. Aha ha ha.” he laughs, “You must be thinking very highly of me.”

“What? No, I do. I just-” she says quickly and stops herself.

That is exactly what she thought. Dimentio tilts his head and looks at her, the mask smiling as usual and she isn’t sure if he is mocking her or if she hit a spot.

“I mean...” she says insecurely, hoping to get the words across properly, “I don’t want you to think that I won’t give something in return.”

He chuckles again and grabs some things from the desk.

“Mimikins,” he says in an amused tone and floats next to her, “I’m sure you will offer your help if I should ever need it, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course I would!” she exclaims, “You can count on me!”

“Aha ha.” he pauses and probably smiles behind his mask again, “That’s what I was hoping you would say. Now, let’s go over your plan. I have an idea.”

He rips out a sheet of paper from his notebook and begins doodling something on it, explaining to her exactly where and when she has to be and what he will do in the meantime. She nods, asks a question and leans closer to see which hall he means. He scribbles on.

“Any questions left?” he asks in the end and looks at her.

“No.” she shakes her head and looks at him as well, “You’re really good at making plans.”

“It’s nothing,” he says with a smile in his voice, “but thank you nonetheless.”

“No, really! I couldn’t do this without you.” she smiles, “Now I can’t wait to see what happens.”

The smile turns into a grin.

“Shall we go tonight?” Dimentio asks.

“Yes!” Mimi cheers.

She bumps shoulders with his and giggles excitedly.

“Mr L won’t know what hit him.” she says.

He chuckles silently and leans back on one hand, content with the way they sit together. A few weeks prior she couldn’t have imagined to sit with him like this. He used to make her nervous just looking at her, he still does, but it’s bearable now. She knows there is no ill intent behind the glares, it’s just how he uses his eyes, in a way. Although, the look he shoots her now makes her heartbeat quicken too. His anticipation is really contagious.

“Wanna play some games?” she asks him.

“Sure.” he shrugs, “What do you want to play?”

“Cards?”

“Okay, but I won’t go easy on you.”

“Who says that I would?”

She shoots him a look and he chuckles silently, but she ends up losing most of their rounds.

After dinner Mimi meets up with Dimentio again. They walk towards Mr L’s workshop, going over the plan once more. Dimentio shoots her one last look and she nods confidently. He nods back, then knocks at the door of the workshop and enters.

“Evening, L!” Dimentio greets him.

“Evening.” she hears Mr L’s voice, “You’ve finally found the door, huh?”

“Frankly, I don’t see the appeal in them.”

She hears them shuffling in the room and stays on alert.

“Well, normal people fancy them, but I guess that you’re too smart to sympathise with us commoners.”

“Correct, you should learn magic. I can’t understand why you don’t want to.”

“Some people have better things to do.”

“Better things? That’s a joke I hope! A cruel, cruel joke.”

“You’re a joke.” Mr L mutters, “What do you want from me? I’m busy.”

“Ah! Yes!” Dimentio snaps his fingers as if he remembered what he came here for and teleports Mimi into the cockpit of Mr L’s giant machinery, “I meant to ask you about your fight with the heroes.”

“What about it?” Mr L asks.

“You said that they have little machines, could you describe them again for me?” Dimentio asks.

“Well...” Mr L pauses and thinks for a moment, “they would follow them anywhere and all three heroes could use them, they’re like specialised weapons. One made you strong, one let you fly, another made you hard to hit and the last one… I’m not sure it looked weird.”

“Hmmm.” Dimentio hums, “I was thinking that there should be a way to use them against them, but I have to think more about this. Oh well, you wanted to work, I will not hinder you any further.”

“Okay… bye then.” Mr L drawls.

“Farewell, L!”

Dimentio makes a dramatic pose and Mr L frowns at him. A snap later Dimentio is gone from the workshop and Mimi hears Mr L muttering to himself before he tinkers with tools. Mimi keeps waiting, she crouches in Mr L’s project, carefully having a look. It sure looks interesting, she didn’t know he had such a talent, but that matters little right now. She waits, it shouldn’t be much longer, just any second now. After a few minutes of listening to Mr L working, Dimentio starts phase two. The light flickers and Mr L makes a confused sound.

“Huh?”

Then everything goes dark and the moonlight shines through the small windows, allowing a minimal sight. Mimi’s time to strike. She closes her eyes and concentrates on Mr L, goes beyond the surface, searches for the innermost primal feelings and finds something. Her breathing becomes flat, her stomach turns and her skin prickles. She shifts and her worries feel so light out of sudden, everything feels light.

She takes a look at herself and… sees through her hands. _W-what?_ She has shifted into a ghost? A… a boo? That is unexpected, but all the better! She giggles and her voice comes out as a hollow whistle in the wind. Mr L must have heard that, she heard shuffling, is he already wearing brown pants? She can’t wait to see his face.

Carefully, she tries to pass the wall and it works. She leaves the machine and grins at Mr L, who hasn’t moved a bit, standing frigidly, turning his head slowly, very slowly, towards her. His face contorts and the most unexpected sound comes out of his mouth.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!” Mr L cries, his high-pitched voice ringing in her ears, jumps up and rattles against his working table, the tools clittering onto the floor.

Mimi giggles her ghostly laugh, then shifts back into her normal form and continues giggling, then comes laughing, then ugly snorting, followed by a satisfied sigh.

“Mimi!” he gasps.

“Oh, Mr L!” she chuckles and holds her belly.

He stares at her incredulously.

“Are you kidding me?” he exclaims.

“Yes!” she cheers.

“What?” he growls.

She tries to suppress the grin, but gives up quickly and bathes in the glory of her success.

“You should have seen your face.” she says, “It was great!”

Mr L blinks, then straightens up, a hand on his chest.

“What is wrong with you? You almost killed me.” he hisses.

“Well, now you know not to do that again.”

She shoots him a narrowed look and he frowns, shaking his head in irritation.

“Do what?”

“Embarrass me like that, you dummy! Don’t you dare say that to County again!” she exclaims.

His face stays contorted.

“Grambi, it was a joke! Can nobody here handle a joke?!” he groans.

“You’re not very funny, L.” she huffs, “But your reaction just now was.”

She grins and he glares daggers at her.

“I wasn’t afraid, you just scared me.” he mutters, “You know I’m jumpy, that means nothing.”

“Yes, sure and that scream?” she smiles devilishly.

“I had too much air in my lungs and had to do something.”

She laughs and Mr L’s mouth draws a thin line, the embarrassment written plainly on his face.

“Well, now we’re even.” she smiles, “No hard feelings, eh?”

She winks at him playfully and he glares daggers at her for a long moment, then sighs.

“Don’t tell Dimentio I screamed.” he says quietly.

“Okay.” she cheers, “And you don’t say such things to County again.”

“Okay, okay, sheesh.”

She grins at him again, then skips past him and up the stairs. Mr L can be such a sweetheart if he wants to. She giggles. Tomorrow everything should be back to normal. No teasing from Mr L, no awkward questions from Nastasia and no assumptions from the count.

She feels so light, the grin on her face begins to hurt from all the glee she tries to contain. She knocks at the door excitedly and Dimentio opens it.

“It worked!” she yells happily.

“Oh? Great.” he replies, his voice owning a smile, but lacking the appropriate level of energy.

“Yes! Oh, you should have seen him! It was so funny!”

The giggles break through again.

“I can imagine.” he says, “I think I heard a scream.”

That makes her laugh out loud and she nods frantically, while Dimentio’s shoulders heave in silent chuckles.

“Ahh, thanks again for your help, Dim.” she says.

“Always, Mimi.” he says.

“Always? Be careful, I might take you up on that.”

“You can.”

She raises a brow in challenge. 

“Really?” she asks.

“Sure, why not?” he asks in return.

“I don’t know I just… Thank you.”

She opts for a smile, not sure why exactly that statement made her hesitate.

“You’re very welcome, Mimi.” he says and the smile in the voice resonates softly between them, “You can always come to me.”

Her heart skips a beat.

“You too!” she smiles brightly at him.

Then it starts pounding heavily in her chest, so sudden that it distracts her and a pause erupts between them.

“So... I suppose L won’t pester us anymore?” he asks eventually.

“Uhh, yeah, we made peace.” she says and puts up an easy smile, “Everything should go back to normal now.”

“Well, that is reassuring.” Dimentio nods, “I was looking forward to watching Super Goomba Bros. with you and O’Chunks again.”

“Oh yeah, the new episode comes tomorrow.” she nods as well, “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Ah, yes, good night, Mimi, sleep well.” he says.

“You too.”

She waves, the door closes and she walks to her own room, sinking down on her bed exhaustedly, her shoes kicked off, the head lying heavily on the pillow, ready to sleep, but a loudly beating heart keeps her awake for a while longer.


	6. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh, so many thoughts, so little time...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was an idea of a dear friend. She told me about this shapeshifter trope and I wrote the first chapter because I loved that idea. Yeah, the secret's out... I'm actually not that creative hahahaha

_Snap_ and a new clone comes into existence. _Snap_ and the electricity crackles between his fingers, the projectile forms and he sends it after the clone that dodges and replies in the same manner. They circle each other, throwing and dodging spells. Their teleportations come faster, where one has been the other appears, from one corner to the next, Dimentio almost flies into a wall before – _snap_ – he traps the clone in a box and it immediately fills with fire.

An exhausted sigh escapes him, he lands on the floor and catches his breath. He concludes his training with stretching before he heads off to take a shower and walks to Nastasia’s office to fetch his tasks for the day. He teleports to the described place and scouts the area, takes notes as requested and reports back to Nastasia. With that he has finished his tasks for the morning and seeing as the clock isn’t calling him to lunch yet, he teleports away to go after his favourite pass time. Well, second favourite.

“Gah!” Mr L screams and the screwdriver flies through the air, “Heck, Dimentio!”

“Ciao, L!” Dimentio greets him cheerily.

“What happened to all the progress you’ve made?” Mr L snarls him, puts a hand on his chest and takes a deep breath.

“What do you mean?” Dimentio asks in mocked confusion.

Mr L points silently at the door.

“Oh, that.” Dimentio shrugs, “It was an interesting experience, but not really worthwhile.”

“If I’m going to die because you can’t use doors.” Mr L growls and picks up the screwdriver, poking Dimentio’s chest with it, “I will personally come back to haunt you.”

Mr L passes him and returns to his current project, which might be an improved rocket-launcher from the looks of it. Dimentio chuckles and takes a seat in the worn out desk chair, glancing at the blueprints of said project. Yup, a new toy for his Brobot.

“How are you doing on this fine day?” Dimentio asks.

Mr L shoots him a narrowed look.

“I’m good.” he answers plainly, “And you?

“I’m good, too, I slept very well.” Dimentio says with an audible grin in his voice.

“...good for you.” Mr L says and shifts his attention back to the rocket-launcher, grabbing his stool to sit on it.

“It was a very bright night yesterday, have you not slept well?”

“My room’s dark, I sleep fine.”

“Oh? Well, that’s good. I had to ask for an extra window shade.”

“Uhuh.”

“You would think that a black dimension wouldn’t be this bright at night.”

“Hmh, a real mystery.”

“Did you know that ghosts hate bright nights when they want to strike fear into the hearts of their victims? Especially boos, I believe…”

Mr L shoots him a sour look before looking back at his project.

“I wonder why that is...” Dimentio adds with a smile.

“That devil!” Mr L curses under his breath and stands up.

He faces Dimentio and crosses his arms in front of his chest.

“Spare your breath.” Mr L tells him.

“Awww, L, I wasn’t going to say a thing!” Dimentio laments, “Do you think this poorly of me?”

“Yes.”

“Ouch, that was harsh.” Dimentio sucks in air sharply, “And I thought we were friends.”

Mr L snorts.

“That was uncalled for.” Dimentio pouts.

Mr L gives him his standard expression of something between being pissed and being unimpressed, then leans against the table and sighs, his look getting softer.

“I wanna see you walking in my shoes.” Mr L says.

“Oh, I’ve been in something similar. Involved less boos, though.” Dimentio says in a light tone, “What was your pair of shoes like? I would die to know your story, like a hungry dog on the moon trying desperately not to suffocate before he finds the bone!”

Mr L frowns.

“And why would you want to know that?” he asks.

“Please, L,” Dimentio says, “There are lines I don’t overstep.”

Mr L huffs and shakes his head in annoyance, looking off sideways.

“I was… just wondering.” Dimentio adds quietly.

A moment passes, but when Mr L grabs the screwdriver and sits back down, Dimentio knows he won’t talk about it. His smile dies down slowly, he knows this behaviour. Mr L is easier to read than the man might think he is and Dimentio is a skilled reader. He stands up and floats over to him.

“Mr L.” he says quietly, but is ignored by stubborn screwing.

He puts a hand on Mr L’s shoulder, causing him to stop in his actions. He halfway expects Mr L to jump up and boast over his acting skills, glancing over whatever just happened to the air in the room.

“Mr L, the whole castle heard. Not that anyone will say a thing, just...” Dimentio says, “Was it a touch too much?”

Another moment passes and Mr L puts the screwdriver back down.

“I thought I had left that behind me.” he mutters, “But then it all came back.”

Dimentio stays quiet, just squeezes Mr L’s shoulder reassuringly. Mr L sighs.

“I’m sure Mimi won’t do it again, but if you want I can talk to her.” Dimentio says.

“Grambi, no, don’t tell her.” Mr L grumbles.

Dimentio sits down to Mr L’s side and levitates to his eye level.

“As your friend, I would suggest somebody better tell her.” Dimentio says.

Mr L looks at him, he grimaces.

“Doesn’t sound as if this was something you want to be reminded of.” Dimentio adds and raises his eyebrows.

Mr L snorts.

“Do you want to be reminded how you got trapped in a mansion haunted by boos?” he asks.

“Hmmm... no.” Dimentio says.

Mr L nods.

“It’s exactly as fun as it sounds.” he says.

“How did you… get into that situation?” Dimentio asks carefully.

“Somebody got trapped in there.” Mr L shrugs, “I was just trying to get them out.”

“How self-sacrificing! You’re a real hero, L!” Dimentio cheers.

But any attempt to lighten the mood turns unexpectedly when Mr L snaps to him, his face contorted by anger.

“I’m not a hero, Dimentio.” Mr L snarls and leans towards him, “Don’t you compare me to _them_.”

“I… I wasn’t meaning to.” Dimentio says slowly, blinking in astonishment.

Mr L leans back, gives him one more pointed look before grabbing the screwdriver, studying the rocket-launcher stoically and beginning to screw with more force than necessary.

“Isn’t it time for lunch?” Mr L growls, “I have to finish this and you’re distracting me.”

Dimentio levitates onto his feet.

“Hey, L-”

“I’ll see you there.”

He waves his hand dismissingly towards the door, eyes focused on the rocket-launcher. Dimentio hesitates for a moment.

“Okay, then, see you later.” Dimentio says and gets another wave.

He floats to the door and leaves, letting the door lock audibly into the frame. Now standing in the empty hallway, he frowns. What did he say?

He lands on the floor and walks towards the kitchen. This is not the first time Mr L threw him out this soon after his visit, but it definitely was the strangest reason. Mr L has a reason with being called a hero? Isn’t that a term with a positive meaning? Maybe after living at Castle Bleck for so long, preparing for the arrival of the _heroes,_ they have become crazy. Or Mr L wants to be a villain, that would explain the outfit and the over-the-top cataclysmic weapon and the theatrics.

Yet his feeling tells him there is more to it and it would be careless to push this aside. Mr L’s arrival was shrouded in many questions whose answers he never really got.

He turns at the next corner and runs into O’Chunks.

“Oi, lad, what’s up?” O’Chunks greets him and continues into direction kitchen alongside him.

“Hm?” Dimentio looks up to him, “Nothing. The usual I guess. What about you?”

“’m thinkin’...” O’Chunks says, “The count hae no arms and ye daen’t have arms, how do ye lift things?”

“Huh?” Dimentio blinks.

He is completely thrown off guard.

“Well, Ah mean, how do ye lift heavy stuff?” O’Chunks says and looks at him curiously, “Ye can’t train yer arms, can ye? How does that work?”

“Hm, I’ve never thought about it.” Dimentio hums and frowns.

“Put ye can do push-ups, right?”

“Yes, why?”

“Well, ye can also do squats, right?”

“Yes..?”

“Can the count do squats?” O’Chunks hums.

“I’m not sure...”

“What a strange world we live in, eh?”

“Well, do you know how your arms work?” Dimentio asks back, suddenly questioning things he has never questioned before.

O’Chunks shrugs and stretches his arms in front of him.

“Normal, I’d say.” he says.

They enter the dinner room and Mimi and Nastasia look up from her conversation, giving them a smile, Mimi’s broad, Nastasia’s polite. O’Chunks and Dimentio sit down opposite of them and they chat about the day and the weather and TV shows. While O’Chunks is immersed in a conversation with Nastasia about science, he sneaks a glance at Mimi, who listens to them and chimes in comments. He should talk to her, probably, he also wants to talk to her.

Count Bleck is the next to arrive and keeps himself in the back of their conversation. Mr L adds to them as well, still grumpy, grunting a response and staying silent for the rest of the meal. It isn’t frowned upon, the others lead the break with bickering and stories.

Once lunch is finished, Dimentio goes after his schedule, training, minor tasks, pause and so on. Everyone sticks to their day. Only late in the afternoon he sits down with a content sigh to watch the new episode of Super Goomba Bros. with O’Chunks and Mimi, though in the end he doesn’t remember much of the episode. Is he just imagining it or is Mimi sitting closer to him today? It makes him smile involuntarily, though they don’t chat much more, she has to rush off to finish her tasks. At dinner she announces to go to bed early and thus he couldn’t get to exchange any more words for her. Truthfully, she looks beaten. Everyone tells her goodnight and Dimentio dallies behind to find an opening to talk to the count. There is something he wants to confirm.

It doesn’t take long, thankfully. O’Chunks and Mr L chat about something for a moment before walking out, Nastasia has disappeared and the count stands up to leave as well.

“My count, do you have a moment?” he asks and follows the count into the hall.

The tall man turns to him.

“Ah, Dimentio, this is fitting. Count Bleck wants to talk to you as well.” the count says.

“Oh?” Dimentio hums and stops before him, hovering up to his eye level, “About what?”

“I have been… informed that I have misinterpreted your relationship with Mimi.” the count says slowly, “I would like to apologize if I have strained your friendship.”

“Don’t worry, no damage has been done.” Dimentio says calmly, though he feels his neck grow warm, “But, uhm, speaking of the topic... I wonder if that would have been a problem? Relationships in general, I mean. Surely, we can’t tell what everyone does in their free time.”

His neck grows hot. Count Bleck regards him for a moment.

“It is worrisome, generally speaking.” he says collectedly, “It diverts a person’s attention and we can’t allow that in these times. Well… we should not, said Count Bleck, but it can’t be helped. Everyone is free to go about their own projects in their free time.”

Dimentio hums in agreement and nods thoughtfully.

“I see.” he says slowly, “Do you think anyone would be bothered? Jealousy is such a fickle thing.”

“Jealousy?” the count repeats.

He swallows his nervousness and nods again.

“Well, some people can’t see other’s happiness.” Dimentio says, “I can’t say that this applies to anyone, but a broken heart might have trouble accepting that somebody else finds what they search for, don’t you think?”

The count’s jaw tenses and relaxes forcibly, but his eyes don’t conform to the farce.

“That is a very specific concern.” he says, “Are you well, Dimentio?”

“Me?” Dimentio blinks and straightens up, “I am perfect, no, nothing of the sorts. I simply worry. I want to create a perfect worlds as much everyone else does, but I can’t help but worry. After all, I am only close to the other minions… I can’t speak for the rest of us.”

“The rest of the staff will be responsible enough to not hinder our mission, said Count Bleck.”

“Right, right.” Dimentio nods slowly.

He needs to back off now, this is as close he dares to go. That and he fears he’ll get another question about his well being.

“That is reassuring.” he adds.

“...was that what you wanted to discuss?” the count asks.

“Yes, that was all.” Dimentio smiles, “I know, a loaded topic, but it did stir up some dust lately.”

He laughs nervously.

“Good. I will retreat for the night, then, said Count Bleck.” the counts nods to him politely, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, my count.”

Count Bleck turns and heads for the stairs while Dimentio waves, before snapping his fingers to find his way into his room. This conversation… The count didn’t say much, but the things he didn’t voice were loud enough. As far a stretch it has been, his dream of a perfect world is connected to love somehow. Somebody, who is most probably not with them anymore. How... tragic, if he is being honest.

Mimi’s prognosis turns out to be true. Normality returns, his schedule calms down, he would be bored if it wasn’t for all the thoughts swirling in his head. Mr L greets him grumpily as usual and it is hard to say if he is still holding a grudge against him or if everything is as before. Mr L is often grumpy, after all. It makes him very thoughtful, a little worried even when he saw Mr L being melancholic. The count is always melancholic, it would be worrisome to see him happy, but even his mood is darker than usual.

The mood in the castle almost pulls him down, especially with Mimi constantly being busy. Seriously, what did she do that Nastasia packed her schedule this much? He hasn’t shared more than a few words with her these last days. It starts to bother him.

With a sigh he opens the door to the training hall, runs into O’Chunks and his thinking comes to a slipping halt, he must have forgotten O’Chunks was here today. Darn the schedule change.

“Hey, lad.” O’Chunks huffs and puts down the handle.

“Hi.” Dimentio waves in greeting, still standing in the door.

“What’s up? Here for trainin’?”

“Ah, no, I forgot that it’s your turn now. I haven’t gotten used to the new schedule yet.”

“Aye me too.”

“It would be too easy otherwise, right?” Dimentio laughs listlessly, “Why would you catch a mouse with a trap when you can chase after it?”

“Ye know how Nastasia is.” O’Chunks grins.

“Yeah, anyways,” Dimentio shrugs, “I didn’t mean to interrupt you. I’ll see you later.”

“Ah, wait, Dimentio!” O’Chunks calls and stands up from his training machine.

“Hmh?”

“Say... are ye okay? Ye been looking down lately.”

“Huh? Me?” Dimentio is taken aback and shakes his head, “Uhh, no, I’m alright.”

“Ye sure?”

“Yes, don’t worry.”

“Somethin’ on yer mind, perhaps?”

“No, I mean, yes, but I’m just thinking.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just...” Dimentio gesticulates, then stops and looks at him, “Well, do you have a minute?”

“Of course, come in.”

O’Chunks waves to him and Dimentio closes the door behind him. He floats to O’Chunks and leans back into the air comfortably.

“Let’s uhm... let’s say a friend of yours was heartbroken,” Dimentio says slowly, “really, very sad and he thinks he is going to die and that death will be the best option. What would you do?”

“A friend?” O’Chunks frowns and then shrugs, “Well, I’d talk tae him. Ye gotta keep him occupied. A broken heart hurts, but it doesn’t kill ye.”

“Keep him occupied?” Dimentio repeats, “Should I introduce him to someone new?”

“Whut? No!” O’Chunks laughs, “That’s the opposite ya should do. Ah mean… That helps some, but not fer most. I’d say daen’t do it...”

The end of the sentence drowns in humming, he strokes his beard in thought.

“Say… does that friend of yer hae problems with his lass fer a lon’ time?” he asks.

“I’d say so, yes.” Dimentio nods.

“Is it his first love?”

“I, uhh, I suppose so.” Dimentio says slowly and nods again.

“Aye, the first love is the toughest.” O’Chunks hums, “Ye just gotta believe it’ll be better. Just… just keep breathin’.”

“I fear that will be difficult to tell him.” Dimentio taps his mask in thought, “I understand what you mean, but aren’t there any… faster methods?”

“Nah, Dimentio...” O’Chunks says sympathetically, “It takes time tae take care of yerself. A broken heart needs time.”

Which is the thing he doesn’t have. Count Bleck had months, possibly years to come up with his plan and the prophecy is rapidly coming to a close. He hums displeased.

“What happened?” O’Chunks asks.

“Huh?” Dimentio asks back.

“What happened? With the lass?”

Dimentio shrugs.

“I don’t know.” he says.

“Aye...” O’Chunks nods, “Ye know, Dimentio, yer a fine lad, daen’t let this keep ya down.”

“What?”

Dimentio blinks at him. O’Chunks smiles gently at him. _Oh no._

“This… this isn’t about me.” Dimentio says, “I was talking about a friend.”

“...what?” O’Chunks asks.

His expression turns into surprise, the eyebrows rising impossibly high. Dimentio freezes up and heats up impossibly high at the same time.

“Who do you think… I was talking about?” Dimentio gasps.

“Uhh, Ah just thought ye meant…” O’Chunks shrugs, “Some lass, ye know?”

“Uhm, no.”

“Oh. Sorry, but… who are ye talkin’ ‘bout then?” he asks.

“It’s the count.” Dimentio says.

“Oh.”

Maybe the void will expand suddenly and swallow him, he doesn’t think he will be able to talk to O’Chunks ever again. O’Chunks clears his throat, meanwhile anxiety pools in Dimentio’s stomach. Who did O’Chunks think he was talking about?

“Well...” O’Chunks drawls, “The count’s been blue fer quite some time, but Ah daen’t think he wants tae meet someone new yet, err… I think time will be good fer him.”

Dimentio stares at him for another moment, before scratching the back of his head uncomfortably.

“It doesn’t look as if time will be enough.” Dimentio weighs.

“Maybe we need tae do more.” O’Chunks hums.

“And what?”

“Bring him tae other thoughts.”

“Will that really be enough?”

“Maybe, maybe not, but it’ll be a beginnin’.”

Dimentio hums thoughtfully to that. Nothing to disagree there, but it is so _vague_ , so brittle. He needs to ponder on this. He also needs some air.

“Thanks for the advice, O’Chunks. I’ll think about it.” he says and returns his feet to the floor.

“Aye, yer welcome.” O’Chunks says, “Glad everythin’s workin’ out fer ya.”

Dimentio frowns.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothin’.” O’Chunks grins, “We ain’t talkin’ ‘bout yer heart, so...”

“Ah, now I get it.” Dimentio smiles back strained, “Well, I have to check on my schedule.”

“Aye, see ya later.”

He heads for the door and closes it with a shudder. He already thought O’Chunks was talking about someone specific… That gave him a scare there. He shakes his head and walks back upstairs to his room, checks his schedule and _surprise, surprise,_ he actually has free time now. Good, old Nastasia and her hobby of changing schedules.

The break comes in handy for him, he needs some time to think. There has to be a way, but his room feels too small to breathe properly. He heads out again, roaming the halls aimlessly in a relaxed pace, eyes on the world outside the castle worlds while his mind is far away.

He wonders when it happened. He knows what happened, although, it is only one branch from a whole tree. What he has gathered so far is pointing towards a tragedy that shaped the dear count into his current self and set him onto his path, this same incident might be an exploitable weakness.

He feels a little bad about it, but he isn’t here for nothing. With all the confusion going on, his goals have slipped him momentarily, but he knows why he joined in the first place. Mimi might be a distraction, maybe even a welcomed one, but he knows how to focus. Speaking of her, it’s been so long since her success in operation L. What is she doing the whole time? She used to come over for games… he misses these evenings.

Ah, his thoughts slipped him again. Well, he can focus on the count, at least. He is gloomier than usual, must be a dip again. Not the first one, but definitely the loudest one. What he heard that one night still lingers in his thoughts.

Two sentences, not much, but simultaneously they carry the weight of a poem. What did Mimi say? He was acting _weirdly_ when asked about _love_. Dimentio was never one to put his nose in other people’s business, but this is too interesting to pass on. It gives so much insight into Count Bleck’s person.

“These worlds need to be gone.” Count Bleck said, “If my life is to live in darkness, so will everyone.”

While the others came for a better world or riches or perhaps mayhem, the count marches on a revenge trip. What did Dimentio join for? Oh well, a better world hits closest, he supposes. It doesn’t matter anymore, his goal changed since he found out. He has to disarm the count… by reminding him that doing this won’t bring her back? That’s no use… hm...

He keeps pondering his options, when he hears quick footsteps behind him. He turns to look who approaches him and his heart beat quickens.

“Mimi.” he greets her with a smile.

“Dim!” she calls and stops before him, catching her breath, “I was looking for you!”

“Hm? Did something happen?” he asks.

“Noooo, nothing of the sorts.” she waves with her hand dismissingly, “Everything is okay, I was just so busy yesterday I couldn’t talk to you. I mean, I’m kinda always busy lately...”

She sighs deeply.

“Nastasia is making me do extra exercises.”

“Oh, you poor thing.” he chuckles.

“I am a poor thing.” she pouts, “Flying is hard, I still can only barely float.”

“You won’t give up now, will you?” he asks with a frown.

“No, but a break would be nice.” she sighs, then smiles, “Speaking of breaks, the carnival, this weekend, we go, right?”

“Of course. Why shouldn’t we?”

He tilts his head and grins at her.

“Just asking.” she says, “I was thinking… Since we both made peace with L, shall we take him along?”

Mr L? Another one? He rolls his eyes at himself internally.

“Sounds like a good idea, if he hasn’t hurt himself again until then.” he says with a smile in his voice.

“Yeah, I hope so.” she says, her eyes momentarily glancing at her feet, before looking at him timidly, “I thought three is an odd number. I thought that if we accidentally split, then we were at least still in pairs, you know. It’s hard to find each other if there’s lots of people, but O’Chunks is always easy to find. Or you. You can float, he is tall. You’re easy to spot, too.”

She smiles sheepishly and his neck grows hot.

“I haven’t thought of that yet.” he says, “True, there will be a lot of people. We might get lost faster than an ant in the grocery store at midnight.”

“Eh?”

She frowns for a second before she laughs and it’s light and makes him feel just as light.

“Do you want to ask the others, too?” he asks, “If both Nastasia and the count come, we would still be in pairs and the more the merrier, right?”

“Oh… hmm.” she blinks in surprise, then thinks, “Why not? I’ll just ask everyone.”

She nods.

“That’s a good idea. A group activity!” she says, “It’ll do us all good to relax some. County is really still lately, we should put him into a roller-coaster.”

She grins and he chuckles.

“I’ll help convince him.” he says.

“Yeah!” she cheers and laughs.

Maybe being there will change something, it’s a small hope, but maybe he’ll get to play booth games with her alone. Their chuckling and laughter calms down and suddenly they are just standing in a hall, looking at each other and he has no words to say and his mind is calm, it is much easier to focus when she is around. He doesn’t want to leave already and it seems to be mutual.

“Do you have time for a walk?” he asks and nods into the direction he was heading.

“A small one.” she says, “Don’t tell Nassy, I’m already late.”

“I won’t say a word.” he promises and gestures elegantly for her to come along.

She shoots him a smile and together they stroll down the hallway in. For some reason, the silence prolongs and sneaking a glance towards her, he sees a lingering smile on her. Unfortunately, unlike that night, they don’t have unlimited time today. He should say something.

“Some days ago, O’Chunks said something strange to me.” Dimentio says when he finally came up with a topic, “I’m still thinking about it.”

“Oh?” Mimi turns to him curiously, “What did he say?”

“He asked me how I do push-ups.”

He can’t help the grin coming to his face as she frowns.

“Why did he… I mean… Don’t you do it like everyone else?” she asks.

“Yes, I do.” he chuckles, “He was wondering how I train my arms if I don’t have any.”

He shrugs and raises his hands to emphasize the gesture. Mimi looks at the missing limbs.

“I guess… I guess you don’t then?” she says carefully.

“To be honest, I’m not sure.” he says, “I know what I can carry, but I’m also sure I could lift heavier things if I trained.”

“But how’s that even possible?”

Her frown deepens. She stops and turns fully to him. He stops too.

“Golly, I never thought about it either.” she mumbles, “I mean… I, uhm...”

“Food for thought, huh?” he grins.

“It really is.” she nods, her eyes fall to his hand, “I mean, your hands are normal… right?”

“Of course.”

He holds up his hand and pokes it with his finger.

“Huh.” she says and grabs his hand gently.

His breath gets stuck in his lungs as her thumbs press into his palm.

“I know there’s something in the gloves...” she mumbles and glances at him, before concentrating at his hand again, “There’s… hands in there, right?”

“What? Y-yes.”

Her cheeks flush with a faint red, his must look feverish guessing from how hot he feels. She lets him go and clasps her hands behind her back.

“Sorry.” she says and laughs nervously, “I thought that, I don’t know, maybe they’re magical. I mean, they are flying, I guess that already makes them magical, but you know what I mean...”

“No, they are!” he splutters, “I mean, how would you know? It’s okay that you wanted proof. It’s only, uhh, curiosity.”

She smiles and shrugs apologetically.

“You can take them off, though, can’t you?” she adds quietly, giving him a bashful grin.

“Uhm… yes?” he grins back, “Why shouldn’t I?”

“Well, because of the whole...”

She gestures.

“Mimi, do you need your arms to take off gloves?” he asks.

“Oh.” she blinks, then laughs, “No, I guess not.”

She steps into the direction they were walking and they continue their walk.

“So, uhh, what did you say to him?” she asks.

“To O’Chunks? Well...” he hums, “He confused me so much that I asked him about his arms.”

“Oh?” she chuckles, “True, they’re just as weird, but he gives great hugs.”

A frown comes to her face again and she looks at him.

“How do you hug somebody if you have no arms?” she asks and the grin comes back, her cheeks flushing a tint redder.

“Uhh.” he says.

His mind stopped working.

“County always puts his hands on my back.” she talks on, “Feels like that kind of hug when you don’t really want to hug them and just hope you can get away real quick.”

“Oh.”

“But it’s nice in it’s own way.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I mean, it depends on the person.”

She shrugs and he nods as his mouth runs dry.

“Yeah, it always depends on the person when it comes to such things.” he says and they are forced to stop as they have reached the end of the hall.

The staircase will lead her to the training hall and he can continue mulling over arms and counts, but he will definitely mull about hugs. She fumbles with something on her dress and he tries not to crack the knuckles in his hands. The hall is a lot shorter than it was in his mind.

“How long have we been walking?” she asks and flicks off whatever she had seen, “I hope Nastasia hasn’t noticed.”

“She probably hasn’t.” he replies, “She’s always busy in her office.”

“Yeah, but she wanted to see my progress and I’m worried she might pop up.”

“Just say that I hindered you.”

“Nah, I’ll just say… something.” she glances away and nods, “Yeah, something is good.”

“Well, you’re not skipping practise.” he weighs, “Being late happens.”

“True, but she’s always so strict…” she pouts, then smiles widely, “But it was worth it.”

His heart starts to beat heavily and he smiles back just as widely.

“I should really go now.” she adds quietly, “Before Nassy notices.”

“Oh, yes, yes you should go, but...” he says, “We could go for a walk some time again, maybe when the weather's good?”

“Yeah, that sounds… lovely.” she says.


	7. Carnival!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the epitome of fanfiction. It's 9.6k words about them having a good time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how old they are supposed to be in this story. All I know is Bleck = Dad

“So, uhm, what do you want to do first?” Nastasia asks.

“The roller coaster!” Mimi exclaims.

“One of those spinning rides, maybe?” Dimentio hums.

“Let’s get grilled mushrooms!” O’Chunks says.

“Don’t care.” Mr L shrugs.

“Hmm. I don’t have any preference, said Count Bleck.” the count says.

Nastasia sighs, pulls out a clipboard and begins scribbling on it. Mimi exchanges a look with the group. Typical Nastasia.

“K.” she says, “First, we will take a round to get an overview. We can get on two rides before making the first break, there we can get food, rest and decide on the next rides. Then-”

“Ugh, Nassy.” Mimi groans.

“Pah.” Mr L grumbles.

Dimentio sighs disheartenedly.

“Cannae we… just see and decide then?” O’Chunks asks.

Count Bleck exchanges a look with Nastasia, he raises a brow and her shoulders slump.

“Sure… we can...” Nastasia says.

“Although getting an overview is a good idea.” Count Bleck says.

She looks up at that.

“We could have a walk first.” Dimentio says.

“Yeah.” Mimi nods.

Mr L shrugs non-committally.

“Sounds good tae me.” O’Chunks says.

Nastasia nods, clipboard stashed under her arm and the hint of a smile on her face. The count teleports them to Flipside and after a quick look around they locate the Flipside Tower. They have arrived in a side alley outside the city centre. Nastasia takes the lead with confidence, Count Bleck and O’Chunks right behind her and Mimi dangling along with the boys.

As they near the carnival and the sounds of the bustling town becomes louder, they discuss what to do first. The town has burst into colours and activity, the streets are littered with booths, rides and attractions have been built and decorations have been placed in every corner. Even the air seems more colourful than usual.

They make their way forward and blend into the masses. Flipside has never been more visited than during these days and the many visitors allow them to go unnoticed. Peacefully, they pass by Flipsiders as well as koopas and cragnien and sammer guys and several more inhabitants of the various dimensions.

Mimi can’t crane her neck enough to see all the bits that the town has to offer today. She makes a mental check list that she’ll go through once Nastasia has made enough plans. Golly, she can’t wait to play all these games. Will the others join her? She had hoped she could challenge Dimentio to one or two.

They walk further into the centre, towards Flipside tower where the noises increase in volume and cheerful cries erupt. The best rides seem to be near the tower, they find the food mile and incredible smells waft to them. They pass it and continue their round until they reach one end of the buzz and walk back to find the next. So far, they have not been seen recognition on anyone’s face and haven’t seen any of their enemies. It will most likely be a relaxing day.

“This must be your kinda festival.” she says to Dimentio.

“Hm?” he asks.

She grins and nods to the group in traditional clothing, of whom some are even wearing the proper mask with it.

“Oh, that...” he says slowly and returns to look at her, “A charming event, isn’t it?”

A grin lies in his voice as well.

“It seems like fun.”

“There are much more people here than I thought, said Count Bleck.” the count says.

“Yeah, so about that… if anyone gets lost,” Nastasia says, “we’ll meet up at Flipside Tower, k?”

Everyone agrees.

“Good idea, Nastasia.” the count says.

“So, what do we do first?” Mimi asks excitedly.

She already has five things at top priority on her list.

“What do you want to do first?” Count Bleck asks back.

“I wanna ride the roller coaster!” she exclaims.

The count’s head turns to look at the tracks peaking over the roofs of Flipside. It must be higher than Flipside tower. He looks back at her.

“Why not start with something…” the count says.

“Less nauseating?” Nastasia adds.

“Hmmmmmoookay.” Mimi pouts, “But we gotta go later.”

“Yeah, don’t tell me you’re afraid of some height.” Mr L says.

“Daen’t worry, it ain’t as scary as it looks.” O’Chunks smiles at Nastasia and the count.

“It’s less about the height and more, uhm, about the turns.” she says slowly.

“Well, if you’re worried you’re going to throw up we could try something else first.” Mimi suggests.

“How about this?” Dimentio hums and points at the breakdancer.

Nastasia looks even less thrilled.

“Yes and then this next!” Mimi squeals and points at the chairoplane next.

Count Bleck chuckles, but it comes out as a cough.

“I saw a shooting stand back there.” Mr L chimes in, “And there were some more games.”

“Aye, Ah’m all fer games.” O’Chunks says, “Ah wanna win sum’ prizes!”

He laughs.

“Me too!” Mimi grins.

“Psh.” Mr L shakes his head, “It’s about the challenge not the prizes.”

“Are you challenging me?” she asks.

“Perhaps?” Mr L smirks.

“Okay, so, uhm, let’s choose the ride, shall we?” Nastasia says.

Everyone, except for Count Bleck, cheers. The chairoplane is the ride of choice and Mimi skips excitedly, she is the first one to get strapped on. Dimentio and Mr L follow, then they run into a problem. O’Chunks is too big for the seats and that is so unfair that Nastasia argues he shouldn’t be the only one sitting out on the fun.

“Yeah, sure, Nastasia.” Mr L says dryly.

“That is _so_ thoughtful of you.” Mimi says dryly.

“What a sacrifice you make, Nastasia. Be mindful of the spit and vomit that comes your way, yes?” Dimentio smiles.

Count Bleck shoots her a look that might be understanding mixed with jealousy. Mimi can’t understand why he isn’t thrilled to be here. She grins at him happily and kicks her legs. Dimentio turns on his seat and exchanges a look with her, she raises her thumb, they look at Mr L who is leaning dangerously far back and lastly to Count Bleck who ogles his non-existent legs. Maybe they should have thought about this a bit more.

The ride begins, the world spins and the effect of velocity comes crushing down on them. Mimi screams of joy while the others catch their hats and an unusual, deep cry pushes through to her. It’s Count Bleck who struggles to keep his hat on his head and his body in the saddle.

After they set foot back on the ground, Dimentio and Mr L joke about the other’s dishevelled appearance while Mimi fights with the last spins of her brain and grins widely. They catch up with Nastasia.

“Where’s O’Chunks and the count?” Mr L asks.

Nastasia nods to the benches further down the street, where O’Chunks stands next to an unhappy looking count.

“He doesn’t look too good.” Mimi comments worriedly.

“How did he get there so fast?” Dimentio wonders.

“Don’t ask.” Nastasia says, “Let’s take a short break and play some games instead, k?”

“Do we have to?” Mr L asks, “I wanna see who throws up first.”

“L.” Mimi says disapprovingly.

“I think we know who would be the winner.” Dimentio says.

“Be easy on him, k?” Nastasia says earnestly.

“Yes, Nastasia.” they say in unison.

They walk to the two men, Mimi skipping to the seat next to Count Bleck.

“How, uhm, do you feel?” Nastasia asks.

“Count Bleck is too old for this.” the count grunts.

“What happened to your hat, County?” Mimi asks, seeing the crumpled accessory.

“Nothing, Mimi.” he says reassuringly.

“Is that a bruise forming?” Mr L asks and points at his eye.

“Don’t ask.” Count Bleck and Nastasia answer in unison.

“Huh? Did you-”

“No.”

“But-”

“How about we split into two groups?” Dimentio asks happily, “I think our dear count could use a break.”

All eyes wander to him, then to Nastasia.

“What?” she gasps, “Uhm, I mean… I guess that is a good idea, yeah.”

“Aye, then let the younglings roam and we’ll catch up later?” O’Chunks suggests.

“Are you sure?” Mimi asks, “We can wait for County.”

“No, no!” Count Bleck says hastily, catches himself and adds more slowly, “Don’t... don’t worry about Count Bleck.”

She looks at him.

“...okay.” she pouts, then grins, “We will wait for you to go to the roller coaster.”

“Oh… that is… so kind...” the count says, “Thank you, Mimi.”

“Aw, don’t mention it!” she cheers and looks at Dimentio and Mr L, “So, we’ll go ahead then?”

“Yes.” Nastasia answers, “You three can go ahead and we’ll catch up to you. Uhm, feel free to go for any rides, k?”

Mimi looks at the count, who nods reassuringly, then at the boys.

“Okay.” Mr L shrugs.

“Fine with me.” Dimentio says.

“Alright.” she says.

Mimi jumps up and walks away with her group mates, while the lingering group wishes them fun. It isn’t necessarily part of the plan, but at least she can spend more time with Dimentio now. And Mr L.

“That was so predictable.” Mr L says.

“I didn’t see it, did you see it?” Dimentio asks him.

“He sat behind me.”

“See what?” Mimi asks.

The boys exchange a look.

“Nothing.” Dimentio says, “What do you wanna do next, Mimi?”

“Hm?” she hums confused, “Oh, well, how about one of those?”

She nods towards the attractions, on whose Count Bleck would have had tons of fun if he just wasn’t that easy on the stomach...

“I didn’t think you like windswept air.” he smiles.

“I look stylish no matter what, I would be more worried about your little hat.” she counters.

“I could have let it at home, but then I would be like a frog in the desert.”

“Yes, I don’t think anyone could recognize you without your hat.” she chuckles.

“Don’t tell me I’m going to thirdwheel this whole time.” Mr L groans.

“W-what?” Mimi gasps, “You’re not thirdwheeling!”

“L, that’s… that’s ridiculous.” Dimentio says.

“Yeah, that’s real funny of you.” Mimi huffs.

She laughs nervously and Mr L shoots them a look.

“Just forget it.” he mutters and struts forward.

Mimi gulps and hushes after him.

“Why don’t you choose what we do next, hm? L?” she asks.

Dimentio hurries to his other side.

“You wanted to see who could last the longest, didn’t you?” he says to Mr L, “Well, let’s see, but you will be the first to crumble like a biscuit on the dance floor.”

“Huh?” Mimi and Mr L hum quizzically in unison.

Mr L shakes his head.

“You’re on then.” he grins and looks at Mimi, “You in?”

“Uhh, sure?” Mimi says slowly.

“Good.” he smirks, grabs them both and pulls them to the nearest spinning disaster.

First, they ride the breakdancer and all three are stumbling for a few steps before catching themselves again and heading for the next one: the tower. They are fine when they are at the top, teasing each other about having no head for heights. Mimi surely has none, if anything her training has taught her to fear the height. She screams out her lungs when they suddenly fall and then it starts to spin and fall and it’s a miracle that they make it back in one piece.

Dimentio is taking it surprisingly well, Mr L is either masking it or he is actually enjoying himself and Mimi could use a break when they are heading to the afterburner, a giant swing that loops and also spins. She looks sceptically at the screaming end of the swing and walks into Mr L.

“Oof!” she says.

“Do you see what I see?” Mr L says.

She looks at him, but he’s focused on something she can’t see over the heads. She glances at Dimentio.

“What?” she asks him.

Dimentio chuckles next to her. She shoots him a questioning look and he grins everlastingly.

“What is it?” she asks again.

“Come on, we gotta do that.” Mr L says and strides forward, “That’s gonna be hilarious.”

“I’m right behind you!” Dimentio hums and follows him.

“What’s going on?” she asks.

Mimi follows them with a frown. They step out of the crowd and stop in front of a peculiar booth, a tent of sorts with a wooden sign standing next to it. _Marvel_ _l_ _ous Magician Merlon_ is written on it in very convoluted calligraphy. Mimi’s frown deepens. She looks at Mr L disbelievingly.

“You can’t be serious.” she says.

“What?” he deadpans, “You don’t wanna know your future?”

“I’m not naive enough to believe that hocus pocus.” she huffs, “That guy is a fraud for sure.”

“Why are you so sceptical, Mimi?” Dimentio asks, “Don’t you believe in magic?”

“Asks the magician.” she states.

“Yes.” Dimentio smiles.

“Uuuugh.” she sighs.

“Come on I wanna know what he reads from my hands.” Mr L says, “I’m gonna prove him so wrong he’ll pay me to read his.”

Mimi shoots him a look that he deliberatedly overlooks.

“I, for one, am curious.” Dimentio says, “You never know, maybe he’ll tell you about your destiny.”

Now she shoots Dimentio a look.

“You two can’t be serious.” she says.

“Come now.” Mr L says, already half-way through the opening in the tent.

Dimentio follows him happily. Mimi sighs, with drooping shoulders she enters and finds herself in a dark and mysterious room. It’s much bigger than the tent leads on from outside. Candle stands lit the place just barely, the cloth seem to soak up the light, the colour choice isn’t helping either. Mimi blinks and sees a figure sitting at a table in front of them, another chair stands ready for the next visitor. Mr L takes it without hesitance.

“Hello, yes, I wanna know my future.” Mr L says.

Mimi walks up to Dimentio, who stands behind Mr L. She glances at him, but he is focused on the _magnificent magician._ The figure is clad in a robe that disguises their face, but a huge beard adorns his look.

“Three visitors at once...” the man says, “These sessions are private. I’m sorry, but I must ask you to wait outside.”

“Oh-” Mimi says.

“Ah-” Dimentio says.

“Nah, that’s okay, they can listen.” Mr L says.

“Hmmm.” the man hums, “If that is the case. Very well, let us start, but I must warn you. I can not tell what will happen.”

“Yeah, yeah, c’mon let’s start.” Mr L exclaims excitedly, “Do you need my hand for that or?”

“Hand? No. No, no, nothing of the sorts.” the man rumbles, “This is no mumbo jumbo, this is clairvoyance. Now, let me speak the ancient words...”

His voice mellows to a whisper and Mimi finds herself stiffening up, her hands in fists. This is giving her the creeps. The light of the candles turns violet and Mimi suppresses a squeak. Mr L leans back cautiously.

“Red, Green, Black, Blue.” a voice, darker than the man’s, vibrates through them, “Twisted around, turned askew. Green shall be your move. The seal of Blue remove.”

The voice ebbs away and the candle light returns to their normal colour, but that doesn’t assure her in the slightest. Glancing to the side, Mimi checks if her reaction is appropriate. Mr L’s expression is blank, Dimentio smiles as always. She feels out of place.

“I hope this aids you on your way.” the man says friendly, “Would you like to hear another?”

“Now wait a second.” Mr L mutters, “What is any of that supposed to mean? What… what was that?”

“The prophecies I speak are not for me, but for you. It is your task to find the meaning in it.”

“What meaning?” Mr L asks perplexed, “You just told me a bunch of colours.”

“I can give you another prophecy, but it might be the same or a different altogether.”

“What?” Mr L grunts.

“Maybe you will mingle with artists in the future.” Dimentio muses.

“Why would I?” Mr L shoots back at him, “I’m a mechanic. Yeah, I create things, but that isn’t art! Except that... one might see it as a piece of art in their own aesthetic… In that case I guess I am an artist.”

“See? Maybe you should embrace this side of you more.” Dimentio says with emphasis.

Mr L’s gaze narrows at him.

“You didn’t have to pull my leg like that.” he grumbles.

“I am serious.” Dimentio replies.

“Yeah, sure.”

Mr L stands up and looks at Mimi.

“C’mon, your turn.” he nods towards the chair.

“I think I’m good. Thanks.” Mimi says.

“Psh, don’t tell me you’re afraid of prophecies.” Mr L scoffs, “You do realise the irony here, don’t you?”

Mimi shoots him a mean look.

“Please, miss,” the man speaks up, “there is nothing you have to fear. Believe me, many have reacted fearful at first, but later they were thankful to hear it.”

She looks at the man, glances at the other two and reluctantly sits down.

“Fine, let’s get this over with.” she sighs.

The man clears his throat and speaks the words. Promptly, the lights go crazy and a cold shiver runs down her back.

“Like those in green” the voice drones, “One is not what they seem. What failed times ago, may let grief forgo.”

The lights turn back to normal. Mimi sits stiffly on the chair, staring at her opposite. She should have walked out.

“Oh, that one is cheery.” Dimentio says.

“What’s up with those colours...” Mr L mutters.

Mimi makes a distressed noise.

“Hm.” the man hums, “Not one of the clearest, I must say.”

“No way.” Mr L deadpans.

“I… don’t understand it.” Mimi says.

“Well, you are green.” Mr L says, “It’s talking about you.”

“That isn’t helping, L.”

“It is about something that failed many times.” Dimentio hums thoughtfully.

“It’s telling you to go back to training.” Mr L comments.

“Maybe I shouldn’t so the grief hits you.” she hisses and stands up.

Mr L shoots her a grimace.

“Okay, now is my turn!” Dimentio says cheerily, “This is so exciting.”

“Yeah, real exciting.” Mimi mutters.

Mr L doesn’t say anything to this, just huffs irritatedly.

“Are you ready?” the man asks Dimentio.

“Like a pot plant that falls onto their victim’s head on a windy day.” he cheers.

The man clears his throat, this time partially out of confusion, and speaks the words. Mimi cringes internally as the lights show begins again.

“A path branches into two.” the voice booms, “Before sunset you must go. Inner turmoil turn to light or meet eternal blight.”

“Wow, this one actually sounds like a prophecy.” Mr L says.

“Inner turmoil?” Mimi repeats, “Dimentio, are you okay?”

“Hm?” Dimentio snaps to her, “Why, y-yes, ah ha ha! These prophecies sure are confusing!”

“He’s not gonna die, is he?” she asks the man.

He strokes his beard in thought.

“Probably not, but something unpleasant is awaiting you, I would say.” he says.

“That’s nothing new.” Mr L says dryly.

“L.” Mimi chastises him.

“He is right, though.” Dimentio says and stands up, “So, I’m not too worried. Aha ha!”

She looks at him sceptically.

“Now, how about a snack? I’m starving.” he asks.

“Yeah.” Mr L nods.

“O...kay?” Mimi says slowly.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but the fee is 50 gold per person.” the man chimes in.

“50?!” they gasp in unison.

They pay the man reluctantly and leave quickly.

“Golly, 50 gold for _that_?” Mimi exclaims.

“That sure was a let-down.” Mr L says.

“A fraud,” Dimentio says, “but an entertaining fraud.”

“Let’s do something fun now.” Mr L says, “I’ve seen bumper cars, I wanna see the count in one.”

“Yeah.” Mimi huffs, “I can’t believe I wasted so much money.”

“Well, your prophecy is at least helpful.” Mr L grunts, “What am I supposed to do about colours?”

“Commit to your artsy side, L.” Dimentio offers.

“It did say you have to remove a seal.” Mimi says.

“What seal?” Mr L asks irritatedly.

“I don’t know. Maybe you should take off that silly headband.” she shrugs, “It’s a wonder you can see with that thing.”

“The bandana stays.” he barks, “What do you know about style, anyways?!”

“Excuse me, did you just really ask that?”

“Oh, hey, there are the others!” Dimentio exclaims and points towards a booth.

There, amidst kids, stand their missing parts and try to throw the basketball in the hoop. Mimi shoots Mr L a sour look, gets a grimace in return and hurries to them.

“Ah, there you are.” Nastasia says and walks to them.

“What about your game?” Mimi asks.

“It’s fine, I’m not that good, anyways.” she says, “I was, uhm, worried we wouldn’t find you. Where have you been?”

“We were over there.” Mimi says and waves into the general direction they came from, “We rode the spinning thingy and this tower thingy and were at a fake clairvoyance.”

“That sounds… nice.”

“Yeah, the rides were fun.” Mr L says, stepping to them, “We can go again. With you, this time.”

“I’ll, uhm, pass. Thanks.” Nastasia says.

“But you wouldn’t pass on a round of bumper cars, would you?” Dimentio asks, stepping to them as well.

“Bumper cars?” Nastasia shrugs, “Why not, yeah.”

Behind them O’Chunks laughs and they turn around to see him congratulating Count Bleck on his grand prize: a toy pistol. The men walk over to them.

“Oi there, ya missed an epic battle ‘f ball.” O’Chunks cheers, “Me boy Blecky did a real impressive feat.”

“You don’t have to rub salt into the wound...” Count Bleck mutters.

“That’s… a nice gun.” Mr L says.

“The red emphasizes the danger.” Dimentio adds.

“Don’t listen to these meanies, County!” Mimi snarls at them, then turns to him with an innocent smile, “I really like it!”

“...thanks, Mimi.” the count smiles and turns to O’Chunks, “Congratulations on your win, said Count Bleck.”

“Oh?” Nastasia hums, “What did you choose?”

“A watch.” O’Chunks says, “Thought maybe it’ll help wit’ the time. I, err, hope it fits me.”

He shows them the small box.

“That’s a nice watch.” Mr L says.

“I’m sure we could make it fit. Just in case.” Dimentio says.

“That’s really a nice watch, it’ll look good on you.” Mimi says.

“Thanks.” O’Chunks grins widely.

“So,” Count Bleck says, “what now?”

“Are you okay again, County?” Mimi asks.

“Yes, thank you for asking.” he says.

“Then let’s get something to eat.” Mr L suggests, “Anyone else hungry?”

A collective approval is given and they’re heading to the food mile. They chatter over each other, Mr L telling them about the clairvoyance and Nastasia listening intently while Count Bleck and O’Chunks talk about sports. Dimentio falls into step with Mimi and she greets him with a smile.

“Are you enjoying yourself, Mimi?” he asks.

“Yes, a lot!” she replies, “It’s a lot of fun going with everyone. We should do this more often.”

“We really should.” he says with a smile in his voice, “I haven’t seen the others this relaxed in a long while.”

“Right? This was a really good idea of you.”

“Oh, I did nothing. You managed to get us all here.”

“Aw, c’mon all I did was asking.”

“Which is difficult enough considering you had to convince Nastasia.”

“Oh, but Nastasia was all on board.”

Dimentio blinks.

“What, really?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

“Uhuh!”

“Who would have thought.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Mimi shrugs, “I just thought it would be fun to go to a festival to spend some time together and she agreed. She said it would be good to deepen relationships to each other.”

Somehow, saying this to him feels awkward. He looks at her and it’s even worse.

“Yeah, I guess so.” he says and looks forward again, “I mean, L seems a lot more cheery today than usual.”

“Now that you mention it… yeah.” she mumbles.

She smiles, but then the sigh escapes her.

“Is something wrong?” Dimentio asks, a frown in his voice.

“No, it’s just...” she pauses and instead bites the inside of her cheek.

“Hm?”

“Ah, nothing. I just think what this would have been like if just we two had gone.”

If she felt awkward before, she is outright panicky now.

“So bad?” he asks.

“No, not at all!” she exclaims and snaps towards him, only to see him staring blankly back at her.

Oh, he was joking with her. She coughs awkwardly.

“Have you noticed the count seems happier, too.” she says.

“O-oh yes.” Dimentio says, “He needs to lighten up a bit.”

“Well, that’s what we’re here for, right?”

They share a look, Mimi smiling lopsidedly and Dimentio… probably smiling too behind his mask.

“Right, but...” Dimentio says quietly, “maybe, if you like, we could come here again… without the others.”

“Yeah!” she says and maybe that was a bit too quick, Dimentio doesn’t seem perturbed.

“Then we will.”

The words echo between them and it seems as if it happens for forever, but then O’Chunks falls back to join and ask them excitedly about food. The ruckus quickly engulfs the rest of the group and they chatter over each other louder than before. Eventually they reach the food mile and dig through the delicacies, wildly mixing hearty and sweet snacks and discussing who is the best player.

“Obviously, that’s me.” Mr L says.

“Says who exactly?” O’Chunks asks.

“Me and everyone else.” Mr L chuckles.

“Well, Ah daen’t say no such thin’!” O’Chunks rumbles.

“Looks like a competition needs to be held, suggests Count Bleck.” the count muses.

“Yes!” Mimi gasps, “And the winner gets...”

“One week without chores-” Dimentio says.

“No.” Nastasia says.

“...one free day?” Mr L suggests.

“Hmm, k.” Nastasia nods.

Mr L jumps up and strikes a pose.

“Then prepare to be stomped by the Green Thunder!” he declares.

“That’s the spirit!” O’Chunks laughs, “Ye will need it! HA!”

“Oh! Oh! Can I choose the game?” Mimi asks excitedly.

Mr L shrugs, O’Chunks nods and Count Bleck smiles.

“You can choose, Mimi.” he says, “I suggest you take three different games.”

“Why not make it five?” Mr L grins, “Or ten. I’ll beat you at every game here.”

“I would like to see that.” Dimentio hums amusedly, “I think I saw a hammer game.”

“That sounds fun!” O’Chunks cheers, “How ‘bout it, L?”

“O-of course!” Mr L says, “I will beat you anyways.”

“Well, then let’s play all games we find!” Mimi says.

“That will take forever...” Nastasia sighs, “How about, uhm, you choose three, like the count said? Take one about strength, one about skill and one about...”

“Luck!” Dimentio offers.

“Oh, that sounds good!” Mimi nods decidedly.

And thus it is decided, no matter how much Mr L starts to brag and to protest and blabbers about wanting to show his power. Mimi leads the group through the festivities, Nastasia by her side giving her suggestions and Count Bleck commenting while Dimentio is stuck with the two squabblers. The first one she chooses is a shooting game. The toy gun looks ridiculously small in O’Chunks hands and he has trouble finding the right grip, whereas Mr L confidently copies the kids at the booth.

When both adversaries are ready to shoot, Nastasia counts the targets hit and the rest cheers them on. Perhaps they are too enthusiastic in their cheering, because O’Chunks and Mr L end up at a draw, they both hit two out of six bullets.

“If those had been real guns, I’d have hit them all.” Mr L explains.

“Of course, L.” Dimentio nods understandingly.

“It’s a toy. You can’t expect it to work properly.”

“You’re absolutely right, yes.”

“This one was the skill game.” Mimi announces, “So, let’s do the strength game now.”

She already knows which one she wants to choose. Actually, it’s one she wants to play herself, but she’ll let the boys at it first. Its the punching bag that she saw earlier. O’Chunks goes first, reaches back and whips the bag through the air. The display shows a strength of 783. Everyone applauses in awe and O’Chunks grins at them. Mr L does some stretching, gets into position and hits the bag for 459. Everyone applauses again.

With a sigh, Mr L congratulates O’Chunks on his victory and gets a hefty shoulder clap. Then Mimi goes and strikes for 402. She bows under the applause of her friends and somehow coaxes Nastasia into it as well. She strikes for 290 and smiles self-satisfied.

The last, and deciding, game is a lottery game. Each picks ten tickets and the one with the most points is proclaimed winner. The paper is quickly shred to pieces and the result is startling. O’Chunks has zero points, whereas Mr L has one.

“I’m the lucky one...” Mr L mumbles.

“This is rigged.” Dimentio says.

“It is rigged.” O’Chunks nods.

“Totally rigged.” Mimi hums.

“We still have a result.” Count Bleck says, “Mr L is the winner.”

“Uhm, congratulations, L.” Nastasia says.

“Whoo.” he says tonelessly.

O’Chunks and Mr L shake hands, make a joke and the group continues their game hunting in a light matter. Now that Mr L has had his moment in the limelight, the rest of the group gets to take part in the fun as well. Mimi challenges everyone, Mr L to throwing rings, Count Bleck to fishing plastic fish, Nastasia to a game of spillikins, O’Chunks to arm wrestling that she totally won on her own and Dimentio to darts. They pass a booth of classic hit-the-can-tower-with-a -ball-game and Mimi stops the whole group to bring their attention to said booth.

Count Bleck assures them to go, the rest of them would head forward while they take their time. They split and Mimi, Dimentio and Mr L approach the booth. Mimi rails against Mr L, but then misses her first shot completely. Mr L laughs. She grimaces.

“T-that’s just because of my bag!” she cries, “I can’t move properly.”

“Oh, of course.” he replies dryly, “The bag.

“Grrr, yes!” she barks, then turns to Dimentio with an angel’s face, “Could you hold my bag, Dim?”

“Uh? S-sure.” Dimentio says.

“Thanks!” she beams, gives Mr L the stink eye and throws.

Two more balls follow and the tower collides. The show keeper congratulates her as she jubilates and turns to Mr L with a victorious expression.

“HA!” she exclaims.

Mr L rolls his eyes.

“Not bad, Mimi.” Dimentio says.

“Thanks Dimmy!”

She chooses her prize and beams at him. Dimentio beams right back. Then he notices the look Mr L gives him.

“What?” Dimentio asks.

“Nothing.” Mr L replies.

“L is embarrassed because now he looks like a dummy.” Mimi grins.

“If you think a bag is all it needs to win against me,” Mr L says and flashes a mean grin, “you’re dead wrong.”

He grabs his portion of balls and throws. The tower crumbles and he raises an eyebrow at her.

“Hmpf.” she pouts.

Another competition starts, this time Dimentio chooses the games and quickly spirals into all three of them trying to cheat the game as much as they can before getting caught. They get caught immediately and run off into the masses.

They catch up to the others and chatter innocently, but then Mimi spots something in the distance and gasps loudly, gaining the attention of Dimentio and Mr L, who follow her gaze.

“You’re gonna lose your money.” Mr L says.

“But I’m gonna get something great in return!” Mimi grins back and hurries towards the booth.

“We’re going to the vending machines!” she hears Dimentio call before floating to her side.

The others call an affirmative and Mr L strolls after them, while Mimi cranes her neck to see the display. There are action figures, electronics in their package and, most importantly, plushes. A few machines got generic things like animals and plants, she isn’t looking for that. Others have plush toys of yoshis and boos and goombas, she even spots the hero of Super Goomba Bros., that one would make a great spotlight on her shelf.

“See anything interesting?” Dimentio asks, as he gains an overlook as well.

“There’s so many.” she mumbles and walks towards the back row.

“Are you going to try your luck as well?” Dimentio asks Mr L.

“Nah.” he responds, “I’m here to watch you lose your nerves.”

“Lose my nerves? I would never.”

“Oh? So, then what happened back at the duck booth?”

“I slipped, it was an accident.”

“Sure.” Mr L chuckles.

Mimi finds the right machine and squeals internally. There she is in all of her glory. The prettiest and absolute best one in the production line as every true fan will confirm, the one doll Mimi always dreamt to own as a kid: Star Guardian Princess Rose. She presses her face against the glass and sighs happily.

“Uhm, you okay there?” Dimentio asks as they come into her peripheral view.

Mimi leans back and smiles gleefully at them.

“I’m good and I’ll be even better when I get her.” she says.

“Good luck with that. Those are rigged, everyone knows that.” Mr L scoffs.

“Psh, you’re a real sunshine.” Mimi scoffs back.

Mr L shrugs.

“Which one are you trying to get?” Dimentio asks.

“That one.” she says and points her finger at the glass.

“Hmm, looks difficult.” he says and leans to all sides of the machine, “She seems to be stuck by those other dolls.”

“I’m gonna get her nonetheless.” Mimi says definitely and puts in the first coin.

She wheels the claw, checks its position twice, then pushes the big red button and the claw opens, drops down, grabs her by the torso and pulls and drops her.

“Argh, so close.” she mumbles and puts in the next coin.

The second attempt follows the same routine. She positions the claw right, but it never hooks onto the doll and by the third time Mimi is convinced this thing is broken. It doesn’t pull with enough power!

“Told you. Rigged.” Mr L comments.

“Well, then I’m gonna rig back!” Mimi snaps.

She puts in the next coin. Dimentio shuffles next to her and she spins to him.

“Don’t you dare cheat for me!” she exclaims, “I can do that alone.”

He raises his hands in innocence and looks at her astonished.

“I’m not doing anything.” he says.

“Good.” Mimi pouts.

The boys exchange a look behind her and Mr L nods away.

“We’ll be around somewhere.” he says.

“Good luck.” Dimentio says.

“Thanks.” Mimi sighs and steers the wheel again as the boys walk away, chatting among themselves.

She tries again. And again, but all her luck seems to be used up. When puts in her last coin, she has successfully pushed away all the other dolls in the way, pulled out one of the less popular girls and takes a deep breath before pushing the big red button. The princess rises up, securely imprisoned by the claw, but then gravity comes into her way and she slips and falls.

Mimi is close to tears. She fumbles in her pockets and in her bag, but she is out of coins. She has two more bank notes, but she reserved those for food and rides. With a pout she looks at them and her pout engraves on her face. It looks like today won’t be the day she will become the proud owner of Star Guardian Princess Rose.

She stashes away the other doll listlessly and trots back to the boys, who are watching others try and fail.

“Hey.” she mumbles.

They turn to her.

“And?” Dimentio asks.

Mimi shrugs.

“Oh.” he says, “Sorry.”

“Don’t take it too hard, you can find them online anyways.” Mr L says.

“Yeah, but it’s not the same as winning her here.” Mimi pouts, “Have you guys had more luck?”

Mr L shakes his head, though he probably didn’t even try.

“I got this.” Dimentio says and shows her the fire plant plush, “I was aiming for the boo, but the machine did something else.”

“It looks really soft.” she says with a weak smile.

“I suppose.” Dimentio shrugs.

“There are the others.” Mr L says as he looks over the crowd.

He shoots them a glance, nods into the direction of the group, then stalks off and they follow him dutifully.

“Hey?” Dimentio whispers to her.

“Hm?”

She turns to him. He holds the plush to her.

“I know it’s not what you wanted, but you can have it.” he says.

She blinks at him, then at the flower. He doesn’t know that she won the other doll, does he? She looks back at him, studies his mask’s expression, how it smiles as it always does and how his shoulders are raised just a bit as if he was nervous. Mimi gets nervous herself and her outreaching hand trembles slightly as she accepts the gift. The plush’s material is even softer than it looked like and she smiles. Suddenly, missing out on her childhood dream doesn’t look that grave.

“Thanks, Dimmy.” she says quietly to him.

She holds it tightly to her chest and grins at him, trying to proof how much she appreciates the gesture. She might even blush a bit and seeing how Dimentio’s smile turns into a grin as well and his shoulders relax, he might see it as well and doesn’t mind causing it.

They catch up to Mr L as he reunites with the rest of them.

“Have you had any luck, asked Count Bleck.” Count Bleck asks.

“I guess?” Dimentio says.

“A little.” Mimi says.

Mr L turns to Mimi and she can see the words on his tongue, but then he sees the flower in her hands, pauses and turns back to the count.

“No, “he grins, “but it was fun watching people get frustrated.”

O’Chunks laughs at that and shows them in return what he won. It was a bathtub duck with a tie.

“Ye won’t believe ‘ow difficult that was.” he says.

“He tried twelve times.” Nastasia adds amusedly.

“Worth it.” O’Chunks nods proudly.

“For a moment I thought that he would, well...” Nastasia trails off.

“O’Chunks had turned an interesting colour of red.” Count Bleck chuckles.

“So bloody difficult!” O’Chunks insists and Mimi laughs.

“It’s a good duck.” Mr L says, “Very professional.”

“Aye, isn’t it?” O’Chunks says proudly.

The duck disappears in the pocket of his trousers and they go on, looking for the next adventure and promptly finding it.

“You promised you would go for a round of bumper cars, Nastasia.” Dimentio shouts.

Nastasia flinches.

“Ah… did I...” she mumbles.

“Bumper cars?” the count muses, “What a wonderful idea. And less dangerous...”

“County, will you drive with us?” Mimi asks excitedly.

“With pleasure, Mimi.” he smiles at her.

“Yeai!”

She practically pulls him to the station, where they are promptly presented with a problem in the form of too few cars. Count Bleck and O’Chunks need one each, Nastasia and Mimi can share one, but Mr L and Dimentio claim to sit out on the first round. She shoots them a look, Mr L gives her a thumb up and Dimentio smiles as gently as his mask allows him to. So, she sits down next to Nastasia and awaits the signal.

Mimi has never been behind a wheel of any vehicle, but she has a great time, driving into people and giggling madly, while Nastasia hastily adjusts her glasses and sprouts driving security facts. In their third attack, she briefly sees Dimentio and Mr L debating. She turns the car around and they are gone, maybe playing some games in the meantime?

Mimi turns around and aims for Count Bleck’s car. Nastasia’s mumbling recedes and in the next moment the car jerks forward, a sudden energy burst lets all vehicles speed up. The boosted push sends Mimi flying out of the car and directly into Count Bleck, who catches her.

“Oh golly!” she breathes.

“Mimi!” he exclaims and sits her down beside him, “Are you alright, asked Count Bleck.”

The car speeds on its own into safety as the other drivers lose control over their cars. A kid cries of joy, a mother in fear. A lot of crashing can be heard behind them.

“Yeah, I’m good.” Mimi replies and turns in her seat to watch Nastasia chastise a group of other drivers, “Nassy’s fine too. Hey, did you see that?”

She turns to him.

“The cars must be malfunctioning.” he grumbles.

“That was awesome! Let’s do that again!” she exclaims, grabs for the wheel and jerks it to the side.

The car turns at full speed.

“Mimi!” the count shouts as they crash into a random person.

“Wheee!”

In the corner of her eyes, she sees the station owner fumbling with a box of buttons and safety pins and getting gradually more frustrated. O’Chunks rushes past them into the group that built around Nastasia and dispenses it like a precise billiard shot. She turns the wheel into the direction and Count Bleck pulls into the other.

“This car isn’t slowing down!” he says through gritted teeth, “Stop!”

“No!” she laughs back.

The chaos around them intensifies, everyone drives around in a frenzy, a fence breaks and the driver is launched onto the pavement, the people outside jumping out of the way. Mimi sees their missing friends on the sideline, Dimentio grins as always and Mr L smirks.

“Wheeee!” she goes and rams a car that sets off a chain event of bumps.

Then, the power runs off and they slow down and lazily come to a stop.

“Thank Grambi.” the count sighs besides her and slouches in his seat.

“No, what’s going on?” Mimi pouts.

With a sigh, he stands up, offers her hand and they walk with the rest of the confused drivers off the stage and regroup.

“How was it?” Dimentio asks cheerily.

“Awesome!” Mimi replies.

“Have you… not been here?” Count Bleck asks slowly.

“Ah, no, Mr L and I were checking some games over there and when we came back we saw this!” Dimentio explains dramatically.

“Real shame.” Mr L says.

Count Bleck narrows his gaze at them.

“Oh, you should have gone with us!” Mimi gushes, “Now it’s broken and you missed all the fun!”

“Oh.” Dimentio says sadly.

“Oh dear.” Mr L says dryly.

O’Chunks and Nastasia catch up to them, she fuddling with the loose strings of her bun and visibly unhappy, while he is still excited.

“This was… uhm, interesting.” she says, “Can we move on?”

“That was great!” O’Chunks exclaims, “Is there another one here?”

“Oh, I believe-” Dimentio says.

“No, unfortunately not.” the count says, “But there is a mirror house, Count Bleck thinks.”

“Oh, let’s go there!” Mimi says and looks at the rest pleadingly.

The count gladly takes her there and the group follows obediently, but then they are having a blast making grimaces and getting lost in the mirror labyrinth. At some point Mimi teams up with Dimentio to confuse the others until Nastasia scolds them. They stop, but share grins and jokes.

Afterwards, Mimi strolls after the others, holding her flower happily and doesn’t mind her empty pocket.

After a break, they find a photo booth and the photo make Mimi laugh until her sides hurt. Once the printed memories are safely stored in Nastasia’s pocket, from which no one will ever see them again, they head deeper towards the screaming masses. Mimi can see the towering form of the roller coaster and becomes giddy just thinking of it. She skips to Nastasia’s side and hugs her arm.

“Let’s go, let’s go, Nassy!” she purrs into her ear.

“Uhm, shall we first go for some more games?” Nastasia asks.

“No, let’s go to the roller coaster!” Mimi squeals.

“What about something to eat?” Nastasia turns to the rest of the group, “Is anyone hungry?”

“No, Nassy, we’ve already eaten!”

“But-”

“Cheer up, Nastasia.” Dimentio comes to her help, “This is going to be fun. These things are meant to be fun.”

“Uhm, fun for one isn’t always fun for another...” Nastasia mumbles.

“But you have to try it to have an opinion.” Mimi whines.

Nastasia looks at the count for help, but he looks at her stoically emotionless walking next to O’chunks and Mr L, who are equally on board with riding the roller coaster. They don’t have a chance to talk themselves out.

Afterwards no one can say who was the loudest. It could have been Dimentio’s maniac laughter or Mimi’s gleeful cries or Count Blecks horrified swears. Nastasia in the meantime was deathly quiet, but she would have been drowned out by O’Chunks anyways.

“We should do that again!” Mimi cheers when they leave the ride behind them.

“Yeah, especially that tunnel was amazing.” Dimentio agrees.

“Could have used a loop, but I guess it was okay.” Mr L comments.

The rest poke along behind them.

“Grambi, we should not do that again.” Count Bleck mumbles.

“Agreed.” Nastasia groans.

“Ah shouldn’t hae eaten mushrooms.” O’Chunks sighs.

As the affected part of their group still collects their senses, the three walk ahead, heading for the last attraction of the day. Mimi is growing tired, being on her feet for hours, having spent her budget and the sun having already set. The other’s energy level seems to be dwindling as well, but it has been a great day. She sneaks a glance at Dimentio, presses the flower against her chest, before returning her attention back to Mr L who is currently talking about Brobot making for a better ride, because he can fly loops.

At the foot of the Ferris wheel, the group reunites as six and Nastasia ogles it with a thoughtful hum.

“It’s getting late.” she says, “That’s the last ride for today, k? I think it’s been quite enough.”

“Nastasia is right.” Count Bleck says, “Tomorrow we return to training.”

“Yes, County.” Mimi sighs.

“Yep.” Mr L mumbles.

“Aye, count.” O’Chunks says.

Dimentio salutes half-heartedly.

“Good, now, seating order.” Nastasia says, “Looks like we won’t fit all into one cabin.”

“Let me go with you.” Mr L says, “I don’t wanna be left alone with those two.”

He points his thumb at Mimi and Dimentio.

“Hey!” Mimi protests.

Dimentio holds up his hands in innocence.

“Mr L, I’m sure you can keep an eye on them.” Nastasia sighs, “Make sure they don’t fall off, k?”

Mr L protests, but the tickets are bought and he gets into the cabin after Mimi and Dimentio. He sits down on the opposite side of them and looks out. Mimi shoots him a frown, but is ignored. There is nothing between her and Dimentio, and Mr L knows that. Golly, they’ve been through this already.

She glances at Dimentio who looks out of his side of the cabin. It wouldn’t have been much different if she had been alone with him. This is about enjoying the view and seeing the city from above in the darkness, with all its beautiful lights shining and the moon on its way to the sky-

Perhaps it would have been different. The cabin rattles and moves, shaking them and after a few seconds they ascend smoothly. Slowly, they’re passing the roof level and pause at the first stop. Already this view is picturesque and the way the noise fades out lays a serene blanket over them. She glances at Mr L, who looks off into the distance with little interest, then at Dimentio. He watches something at the ground, then his eyes meet hers and she smiles momentarily, before leaning against the wall to comfortably look at the scenery.

“This is beautiful.” she says.

“Yes, the lights give this place a whole other feeling.” Dimentio says, “Who would have thought Flipside could look like this?”

“It’s nice, yeah.” Mr L says disinterestedly.

“A perfect way to end the day, wouldn’t you agree, L?” Dimentio asks him.

“If you think so.” Mr L says.

“I think today was super fun.” Mimi says, “Did you have fun, L?”

“It wasn’t bad.” he says.

“Aw, c’mon.” she grins, “You can admit it.”

Mr L looks at her, then looks away without giving her an answer and Mimi laughs. She shakes her head and turns her attention to the shifting view as the cabin sets into motion again. On the second stop, above the roofs where the single people on the ground blur into another, she sighs and takes a moment to appreciate the view. It’s making her all soft inside.

“You know,” she sighs, “sometimes I think I barely know you.”

She turns back to them to see them looking at her.

“I mean, I know what’s it like living with you two, but I don’t know what your favourite colour is or what you wanted to be as a kid.” Mimi continues, “I really like you both, I wish we could be better friends.”

Mr L doesn’t show much of a reaction, he doesn’t seem to take her serious, but neither says a sarcastic comment. Dimentio looks at her intently.

“I trust you, Mimi. In my eyes that shows how much I value you as a friend.” he says and turns to Mr L, “You too, incidentally.”

Mr L rolls his eyes.

“I think, whatever happens” Dimentio says, “I know that we three, at least, will be sticking together like gum in hair.”

“Very fitting metaphor, Dim.” Mimi says.

“Thank you.” he says.

“You two are too sentimental.” Mr L snorts, “You’re getting teary eyed, because it’s dark and we’re very far away from the ground and if someone fell out now it would be the last sentence they spoke.”

He shakes his head. Mimi scoots closer to him and leans leisurely against the cabin walls.

“So, what if we are?” she asks softly, “I wanna be better friends with you, so let’s talk. I know I was a little mean with the whole boo thing, I’m sorry for that.”

He looks at her sceptically.

“Same here.” Dimentio chimes in, “I know we don’t always agree on things, L, but we don’t have to either.”

A moment passes and Mr L bestows an icy look on them.

“Look,” Mr L says, “we live together, okay, we work together. That’s one thing, but that doesn’t make us friends.”

“L,” Mimi says with emphasis as Dimentio looks taken aback, “look, we don’t always show it, okay, that’s true, but we care about you.”

“It’s hard getting to know you when you are like this.” Dimentio adds, “You don’t have to be on alert like a guard dog that won’t get fed if it led in the postman. You know, I haven’t said a thing about what we talked about.”

Mimi shoots him a questioning look, but Dimentio focuses on Mr L.

“You… didn’t?” Mr L asks and glances at Mimi, then focuses on him again.

“You didn’t want me to, so, I shut up.” Dimentio shrugs.

“And I’ll respect your secrets.” Mimi says, “Though I would love to know what this is about.”

“Not a chance.” Mr L says, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

“Aw.” Mimi pouts, but then grins.

She hits his shoulder playfully.

“Come, L, let’s be the bestest of friends!” she cheers.

“You two are the worst.” Mr L sighs and shakes his head, but his voice sounds light.

The words hang between them as if a great weight was lifted of him and he shuffles as if he wants to say something, but then can’t bring himself to. Mimi smiles widely, she has never felt that much comfort in the presence of the boys, but she feels as if she will from now on.

“Aw, L, we love you too.” Mimi grins and lays her arm around him, hugging him sideways.

She exchanges a look with Dimentio, who smiles at their display. She waves him to Mr L’s other side, he slides to them and joins their unorganized hug. Mr L grunts, Mimi laughs and Dimentio chuckles.

Mr L doesn’t need to voice anything. He sighs and visibly relaxes. He says enough. Mimi almost gets a little watery when she looks at Dimentio and he looks back. Something more than a simple reassurance happened between them. She squeezes Mr L.

The cabin moves again, rattling them apart, but they manage to stay on their seats. Mimi quickly comes up with a topic to talk away the heavy air.

“I feel like having some nuts.” she says, “Where was the shop with the sweets again, Dim?”

“Uhm, I think it was somewhere near the exit, but there should be several.” Dimentio says.

“Shall I get you something too?” she addresses both.

“I’m good, thanks.” Mr L says and inspects the other cabins, seemingly searching for the rest of their group.

“I’m full, too.” Dimentio says, “But let’s see if the others want something. It’s gotten very crowded.”

“Yeah, I thought people would leave as it gets later.”

“They’re probably waiting for the firework.” Mr L says and looks at her, “It’s supposed to go off at 9.”

“What, really?” she gasps, “I didn’t know! We have to stay for that!”

Mr L shrugs, agreeing as nonchalantly as ever.

“We should.” Dimentio nods.

Their cabin stops on the ground, the lock is opened and they are led out. Walking down from the podium, they meet the others in front of the wheel.

“What a view, eh?” O’Chunks says to them.

“Uhh... yeah!” Mimi says..

“It’s something else to, uhm, see the city from the sky.” Nastasia says.

She smiles too, it must have really impressive then.

The others say their agreements before Mimi declares her need for something sweet and the count offers to walk with her while the rest will wait.

“Did you like the Ferris wheel?” he asks her.

“Yeah and you?” she asks back.

“It is the best ride, in Count Bleck’s opinion.” he says and adds quietly, “The least nauseating one, at least.”

They arrive at the booth, Mimi gets her nuts and they walk back. She offers them to the others, but all decline besides Nastasia. Mr L reminds them of the time and they search for a good spot while chatting among themselves. Count Bleck continues his discussion with O’Chunks and Mr L starts one with Dimentio. Mimi munches and smiles to herself. Their group activity is a real success!

They position themselves far from Flipside Tower, where it is supposed to start, and they haven’t been the only ones. The masses squeeze them good, she sees the top hat of Count Bleck a bit to her left, O’Chunks next to him and Dimentio stands next to her. The rest she can’t see, but as long as he is nearby she doesn’t worry about finding them.

She shares a wordless smile with him, stashes away the nuts in her bag and then the fireworks begin and they are amazing. Mimi can’t remember the last time she has seen fireworks, but as beautiful as they are, she is more curious about the Dimentio’s reaction. She sneaks a glance at him and finds him looking at her.

Suddenly she is aware of how close they stand to each other and she wonders if the mask shows her his true expression. If he actually smiles like that, if he smiles at her and if she should feel as nervous as she does. She swallows and smiles back, though it comes off more timidly than gleeful. She leans towards his ear and he leans towards her in return.

“Wonderful, isn’t it?” she asks.

He nods and speaks into her ear.

“You don’t often see something this beautiful.” he murmurs.

His voice echoes in her head and he leans back. His eyes stay on her and it makes her heart skip a beat and she dares to think he didn’t mean the fireworks… She takes a shaky breathand she leans back to him.

“You should look back then or you’ll miss everything.” she says.

He chuckles, but she can’t hear him over the booms of the rockets and their eyes stay locked in trance. The firework is forgotten and maybe it is the time or because something more happened on the Ferris wheel, but Mimi’s chest is filled with warmth and she wants nothing more than to hug him and feel him close, as close as she feels herself emotionally bonding to him.

The sky goes dark and suddenly her ears are filled with cheers and claps and people whistling their appreciation. A moment later the lights of the booths come back to life and Dimentio nods towards the others who are leaving with the mass around them. Together they walk back and when Mimi glances at him, he looks straight forward, focused on the task at hand. To not get lost and to not loose sight of the others and maybe she should focus on that, too, but she doesn’t. She lingers in the moment they have shared. One that was too short, in which she couldn’t properly react to and her stomach clenches nervously as she looks at his hand.

He rarely keeps his hands outside his poncho. Should she? She doesn’t think twice and slips her hand in his, holding it firmly. Dimentio flinches and his head snaps to her.

“D-don’t lose me here.” she tells him with flushed cheeks.

He blinks and nods.

“I won’t.” he says sternly.

His fingers close around her hand and nothing has ever felt this... important. A smile comes to her face and she thinks her chest might burst any second, but she squeezes his hand and looks forward to find the others. When he squeezes back, she doesn’t mind anymore if they lost sight of them. She could spend the night searching.


End file.
